Jose Leclerc has been shut down by the Athletics, and the veteran reliever will require season-ending right shoulder surgery.
Brian Schulman, the club’s director of sports medicine and performance, said Friday that Arlington-based Dr. Keith Meister will perform the surgery “in the upcoming weeks.”
After pitching in just 10 games for the Athletics this season, Leclerc landed on the injured list on April 23 with a right lat strain. He had started to play catch, but, according to Schulman, Leclerc could not throw with the required effort and intensity.
“This is a tough one, not just for us but for him, personally,” Athletics manager Mark Kotsay said. “You never know what the surgery is going to entail. We’re hopeful that there’s a quick recovery for him, for his career.”
Leclerc, 31, spent his first eight major league seasons in Texas, and was a major part of the Rangers’ bullpen that excelled during the 2023 World Series run. In that season, Leclerc, used as a set-up man, pitched to a 2.68 ERA and fanned 67 batters in 57 innings. He closed on a part-time basis for Texas in 2018 and 2019, amassing 26 saves in those seasons.
For his career, the native of the Dominican Republic has appeared in 360 games, all but three of which have come out of the bullpen. He has 41 saves and a 3.34 ERA.
He signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Athletics in January.
–Field Level Media
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