Rangers GM Daniels Not Concerned About Bullpen Woes
By: Josh Clark
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DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - It's been a rough start to the Rangers season. Through 12 games, Texas is 4-8 and currently sits at the bottom of the AL West.
The biggest reason they're in the dweller is due to their bullpen woes. In particular, closer Sam Dyson's inability to close out ballgames.
Dyson is 0-3 with three blown saves and has a 27.00 ERA across 4.1 innings of work, prompting the team to at least consider who should get the ball in the next save situation.
Regardless if there's a change made or not (Banister hasn't announced one), is it time to panic? According to Rangers general manager Jon Daniels, it's not.
"We've dealt with this before and solved it and expect we will again," Daniels told The Ben & Skin Show on 105.3 The Fan on Monday.
Daniels is referring to the team's recent history with their opening day closers, where they've had to replace them in back to back seasons.
Shawn Tolleson took over the job in 2015 after Neftali Feliz coughed it up and Dyson took over for Tolleson after he struggled in 2016. And, now, it appears it's someone else's turn to take over for Dyson.
So who will it be? They'll probably go back to a bullpen by committee and see who appears, with the leading candidates being Matt Bush, Jeremy Jeffress and Tony Barnette.
In the meantime, it's Daniels job to play down that there's any kind of crisis going on with the club right now. But with Jake Diekman out for the foreseeable future (colon removal), Bush having to get a cortisone shot last week, and Keone Kela starting the season in Round Rock to go along with Dyson's struggles, it's difficult to say it's not anything different.
The good news is that Bush was able to return to the mound on Sunday and struck out the side in the 8th inning, while Kela could be on his way back up to the big club sooner than later, Daniels seemed to indicate on Monday.
"It's an option. He's done a very good job down there on and off the field," Daniels said of Kela. He went on to say that the club had a discussion about whether or not to call him up before the series began in Seattle but decided against it.
Daniels also touched on Nomar Mazara and some other things in his interview with Ben & Skin.
Listen to the audio above to hear the full interview and don't forget to catch the Rangers on 105.3 The Fan tonight at 8:30.
