3 Free Agents the Rangers Must Sign to Repeat as World Series Champions
By Tyler Maher
3. Josh Hader
The Rangers have a number of relievers who are about to become free agents, including Aroldis Chapman, Chris Stratton and Will Smith. That means the team could desperately use another late-inning arm to pair with Jose Leclerc.
Since Leclerc is a righty, signing a lefty like Hader would make a ton of sense.
Hader is one of the best relievers in baseball, making five All-Star appearances in the last six seasons. He posted a sparkling 1.28 ERA in 2023 for the San Diego Padres and has been nearly unhittable throughout his career, posting an absurd 15.0 K/9.
With 165 career saves under his belt, he's also a far more established closer than Leclerc, who only has 40 saves in seven seasons so far.
Signing Hader would give Bruce Bochy a major weapon at the end of games. He could move Leclerc to a setup role in the eighth inning or mix and match in the ninth inning depending on the matchup.
Either way, adding a shutdown arm like Hader would provide a huge advantage in the late innings and could come in handy in October.
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