Athletics announce signing of right-hander Jose Leclerc A one-year agreement was reached. According to the New York Post’s Jon Heyman, the right-hander will make $10. Rightist compatriots Will Klein Already assigned a roster spot.
Leclerc, 31, straddles the American League West. He has spent his entire career so far with Rangers. While at Texas, he excelled as a reliever. Overall, his career has been defined as having strong strikeout ability but also some poor control.
Overall, he has logged 360 1/3 innings so far, allowing 3.27 runs per nine. His 31.2% strikeout rate is a very high number, but his 13.2% walk rate is well above average.
The lack of control made his performance somewhat inconsistent. He was the Rangers’ primary closer, recording 12 saves in 2018 and 14 the next year. But he essentially missed the next two seasons. A torn right teres muscle limited him to just two appearances in the shortened 2020 season. He then requested Tommy John surgery in March 2021, and the year was lost.
Since his return, he has been unable to regain his closer role, recording just 12 saves total over the past three years. However, his control has actually been better recently, at least relative to his previous performance. After Tommy John surgery, his walk rate was 14.9 percent. Since his return, he has walked only 11.3 percent of his batters. That’s still a high number, as league averages are typically in the 8-9% range, but it’s a definite improvement.
From the start of the 2022 season to now, he has a 3.36 ERA, a 29.2% strikeout rate, and, as mentioned, an 11.3% walk rate. His 3.60 FIP and 3.58 SIERA were slightly higher than his ERA, likely because he was a bit lucky with a .271 batting average in the game and a 76.5% winnowing rate. He also played a big role in Texas Relief’s World Series run, pitching 13 2/3 innings in the 2023 postseason with a 3.29 ERA.
His ERA did jump to 4.32 in 2024, but that doesn’t appear to be his fault. His .314 BABIP last year was actually on the high side. His 30.9% strikeout rate and 11.1% walk rate were very close to his previous numbers. His 3.48 FIP and 3.26 SIERA both suggest he is very similar to the player entering this year.
Strikeouts aside, Leclerc is often good at avoiding damage. Statcast had a 30.7 percent hard-hit rate last year, which ranked him in the 96th percentile among qualified pitchers. That’s actually higher than his career 29.3% shooting percentage. Last year, his average exit velocity was 87.4 mph, which put him in the 84th percentile. His career average was again 86.4 mph, or even higher. His four-seam fastball and sinker average around 95 mph, while he also mixes in a slider, cutter and changeup.
This is an interesting buy-low move for the A’s as they snag Leclerc after a rough year in the ERA department, but the numbers behind it are encouraging. They already have one of the best closers in the league Mason Millerso they can use Leclerc in the reserve team.
The club has been surprisingly aggressive in expanding its squad this winter. They spent big money to sign a free agent right-hander Luis SeverinoAcquired left-handedness jeffrey springs From Rays and signed outfielder/designated hitter Brent Rooker Extended for five years.
Ironically, this probably has a lot to do with the club having to spend its revenue-sharing funds to avoid the MLBPA’s displeasure, but nonetheless, they’ve made some notable improvements. After developing a lot of young talent into the major leagues, the team went 32-32 in the second half of 2024, so it’s not out of the question that they could be a surprising contender in 2025, especially with the new additions. If that doesn’t materialize, though, and they still lack competition, Leclerc could be traded before the summer deadline as long as he has a strong year, as he’s only on a one-year deal.
Leclerc’s deal brings the club’s payroll to $74 and its competitive balance tax to $106, according to calculations by RosterResource. There are reports that the club needs a CBT amount of $105 to avoid such dissatisfaction, but the final CBT calculation will not be available until the end of this year. The A’s may want to push further just in case they end up trading a player like Leclerc before the deadline and lower that number. Otherwise, their deadline deals will have to remain fairly revenue neutral.
There will be more to come.
