Projecting the Texas Rangers’ 26-man roster halfway through spring training

Texas Rangers roster projection 2.0: Bullpen (7)

Closer: RHP Hunter Wood

Set-up man: RHP Jose Leclerc

Swing men: RHP Jordan Lyles, LHP Wes Benjamin, LHP Kolby Allard, RHP Brett de Geus, LHP Taylor Hearn

Out of all the positional groups in this projection, none shows more disparity between the first and second iterations than the bullpen.

You can thank the electric Jonathan Hernandez’ UCL strain for complicating matters in the bullpen.

His loss is a brutal blow to this bullpen, as his raw stuff and right arm make him the best reliever on the team.

The show must go on, though, and fortunately for the Texas Rangers, they have quality depth in the bullpen.

More from Nolan Writin'

• Framework for a potential Max Fried trade to the Texas Rangers
• Early 2023 MLB mock draft has Texas Rangers selecting an Ohtani-lite
• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Where do Texas Rangers prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker stand after the DeGrom signing?

At closer, righty Hunter Wood has greaty impressed at spring training, racking up strikeouts and saves with relative ease (and tremendous flow!).

Considering Wood came into camp as a non-roster invitee, his meteoric rise to closer in this projection is nothing short of incredible.

Behind Wood will be set-up man Jose Leclerc, who must once again earn his closer’s spot.

As for the swing-men, tough decisions were made. Southpaws Wes Benjamin and Kolby Allard have surpassed any expectations set for them coming into camp, and both are now deserving of opportunities in the big leagues once again.

Jordan Lyles, thought to be a rotation candidate, was recently told by Chris Woodward that he’ll be utilized in a swing-man type of role in 2021, so for the purposes of this projection, he slots into the bullpen.

RHP Brett de Geus was a Rule 5 pick by the Rangers from the Dodgers during the off-season. Rule 5 picks must remain on the active roster all year or risk being returned to the original team.

Rounding things out is LHP Taylor Hearn, who is too talented not to make this team. He could very well find himself starting at times this year, but for now, he’ll reside in the reliefs corps.