Texas Rangers Expected to Have Surprising New Closer

With Kirby Yates now in Los Angeles, and elite setup man David Robertson still holding himself out until he gets an offer he can't recall, the Texas Rangers are currently going with Shawn Armstrong and Luke Jackson as closers, but neither of them are inspiring too much confidence. 

But according to a report, they are considering a very unusual solution in the coming days, as they hope that a youngster who's pitched in a mere eight games in his career will be able to do the job. Bob Nightengale of USA Today fills us in:

The Texas Rangers are seriously considering trying Kumar Rocker as their closer when he returns off the IL. He has been out since April 24 with a shoulder impingement, but the Rangers believe that his fastball-slider combo could be lethal in the pen.

Rocker's pitch selection certainly didn't work as a starter. In his five games taking the ball before his injury in April, the 25-year-old had an 8.10 ERA and a 1.75 WHIP, pitching just 20 innings in his five starts. He surrendered a .341 batting average and a .913 OPS. Yikes. 

Rocker has been a starter throughout his baseball career in the NCAA and in the minors. The Rangers selected him with the 3rd overall pick in the 2022 Draft, after he was the 10th pick by the NY Mets the year before, but the team declined to sign him, citing worries about the health of his elbow. 

Could Kumar Rocker be the Rangers' new closer?

In a three-year college career at Vanderbilt, Rocker went 28-10 and posted a 2.89 ERA with 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings. He dominated the minors in much the same way, with a combined 2.66 ERA and 0.87 WHIP with a 100:12 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 67 innings. 

If they go that route, he could be a dynamic addition to the back end of the Texas bullpen when he returns in a few weeks.