Rangers’ longstanding closer problem took just two games to rear its ugly head in 2026

PHILADELPHIA — This story should be accompanied by sound effects. Ding! Rangers Captain asks that you remain seated, with seatbelts fastened. Turbulence is ahead.

If first impressions are to be believed, to the surprise of absolutely nobody, the Rangers are going to have trouble protecting ninth-inning leads without an established closer. This was a major question throughout the winter. It lingered into the spring. And was only further emphasized by the first opportunity the Rangers had to close out a game without issue. It was, of course, an issue.

Texas Rangers manager Skip Schumaker, second from left, takes the ball from starting pitcher...

Yes, the Rangers ended up beating Philadelphia 5-4 in 10 innings on a cold and windy day. Yes, Jacob Latz is a Swiss Army Knife of a pitcher, willing to jump back in as a starter on, oh, about an hour’s notice, and compete. Yes, the offense showed some resilience for a second straight game. And, yeah, “Cutch in the clutch,” has a nice ring to it. But, alas, Skip Schumaker’s first Rangers win came with the same kind of questions that dogged Bruce Bochy the last three years.

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About closer, is the first opportunity too early to ask questions about the situation? Apparently not. Schumaker seemed to act like he knew it was coming.

“We are going to run those guys out there,” Schumaker said after his two top closing options, Robert Garcia and Chris Martin, lost a 3-0 ninth-inning lead. “I have confidence. We were ahead in the count. We were in leverage counts. And we made pitches. We made them put the ball in play. We’re going to run those same guys back out there and we will see what happens. You just don’t know how this is going to go, but we will piece it together and I believe this group is going to find a way.”

We could make the circumstances sound worse, if you’d like. Like this: The Rangers took a one-hit shutout to the ninth on exemplary work by Latz, a last-minute fill-in for stiff-necked Jacob deGrom, and three other relievers. They were actually one strike away from the one-hitter, but if you are a Rangers fan, you’ve been there, done that. Alec Bohm fought off an 0-2 changeup off the outside edge for a flared single and things just crumbled from there.

After a walk to hit pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa on a full count, Martin replaced Garcia and got a first pitch pop-up from old friend Adolis García that got caught up in the swirling 18-mph wind. For the second time in the afternoon, Jake Burger couldn’t corral it. Given another chance, García, who you may recall has a flair for the dramatic, doubled home a run. And the rally was on. Brandon Marsh singled to tie it. And save chance No. 1 became blown save No. 1.

“I was talking with [Josh Jung] about his approach in these types of games, slowing the feet down,” said Burger, who homered for the second straight day. “My eyes were bouncing a little bit too much, and that’s what happens. It’s windy, but that’s not an excuse for making a play, and I think it’s something that won’t happen again.”

The Rangers ended up going 1 for 2 on save opportunities on the day with Tyler Alexander closing out a dicey 10th after the Rangers scored two runs on a wild pitch and a two-out single by Andrew McCutchen. But in those numbers lies the issue. When it comes to save opportunities, Ranger relievers have basically been a 50-50 proposition in the Chris Young Era. Their 56.3% save conversion rate since 2023 ranks 28th in baseball, only ahead of Colorado and the White Sox. The Rangers somehow won a World Series in that stretch; the two others managed to each lose at least 100 games in all three of the previous seasons.

With limited funds provided to them this winter, the front office couldn’t go out and make a big closer splash. They spread dollars around, picking up guys like Alexander, Jalen Beeks and Jakob Junis, who combined for four innings of effective work Saturday. The Rangers have found ways to stretch dollars for effective middle relief work, but remain without a closer. Until somebody grabs the role and eases minds, it’s going to remain a pressing question.

Who knows, maybe when it’s all said and done, it could end up being Latz. He’s done everything the Rangers have asked of him since the start of 2024. As a starter: He’s now posted a 2.47 ERA and 1.007 WHIP in 43 ⅔ innings. As a reliever, it’s a 2.93 ERA. He can pitch multiple innings. The biggest concern keeping him from nailing down a starter’s job is the inability to hold velocity deep into games.

On Saturday, his fastball dropped from an average of 93.4 in the first inning to 90.9 on the two he threw in the fifth on a four-pitch walk that ended his day. Still, he ended it without allowing a hit. Not a bad outing for a guy who was informed in the past week that, no, his dream of being a full-fledged starter would not be fulfilled to start the year and who arrived at the ballpark on Saturday to find out that, well, he was starting because deGrom woke up with a stiff neck.

“I was frustrated with the way the last couple [starts] in the spring finished off, so I was extra motivated to start the year on a good note,” said Latz, who was informed he’d start at 11:30 a.m. ET. “They made it clear in the message before the season started that I’m going to be a valuable arm for them and that the role for me right now is in the bullpen. Then it changed quickly, but in my mind, anything can change. It did quickly. I just tried to go out there and execute a pitch at a time.”

“His depth is valuable, and we really need it,” Schumaker said. “You just don’t know how things will turn. We sent him to the bullpen and we told him to be ready because things can happen quick. Didn’t expect it in Game 2, but he can start and he did a fantastic job. He can come in and relieve in high leverage. He’s just a really valuable piece and we are lucky to have him.”

Valuable enough to close? Is it too soon to ask?

Twitter/X: @Evan_P_Grant

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