Rangers place Leclerc on IL with shoulder injury, will add Greg Bird
The Texas Rangers placed closer Jose Leclerc on the 45-day injured list with a Grade 2 tear of the teres major muscle in his throwing shoulder, the team announced Thursday.
It's the same shoulder muscle that Rangers ace Corey Kluber tore in his first start of the season on Sunday.
The team expects Leclerc to miss a significant amount of time while rehabbing. He'll be shut down for about four weeks and undergo a platelet-rich plasma injection, according to Levi Weaver of The Athletic.
Jon Daniels says fair question on whether similarity of injuries to Kluber/Leclerc could have something to do with ramp-up for pitchers around MLB. There have been number of early-season arm injuries. Teams/league discussing further. https://t.co/b1loNB2sVH
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) July 30, 2020
Leclerc suffered the injury while warming up ahead of the eighth inning of Wednesday's contest against Arizona. The team replaced him before he threw a single pitch.
Leclerc posted a 4.33 ERA with 100 strikeouts and 14 saves in 70 games for the Rangers in 2019, and saved one of his two appearances this year. The 26-year-old is in the second season of a four-year, $14.75-million contract that he signed following his breakout 2018 campaign.
Texas plans to purchase the contract of first baseman Greg Bird due to Leclerc's injury, according to Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The team is expected to announce the move on Friday.
Bird once appeared destined for stardom with the New York Yankees after posting a .871 OPS with 11 homers in 46 games as a rookie in 2015. But a multitude of injuries limited him to just 140 big-league contests over the last four seasons, eventually leading the Yankees to cut him. The 27-year-old joined Texas on a minor-league deal this winter.
They also recalled right-hander Jimmy Herget to replace Leclerc, according to Wilson.
The Rangers optioned first baseman Ronald Guzman to their alternate training site, the team announced.