Padres sign ex-Rangers reliever with 41 career saves as Mason Miller insurance

Opening Day is around the corner, and the San Diego Padres want to make sure they have as much bullpen depth as possible. 

According to a report from Mike Rodriguez, right-handed reliever Jose Leclerc signed a minor league contract with the Padres on Monday. The 32-year-old was a key piece of the 2023 Texas Rangers club that won the World Series. 

"The deal is already done: it's a minor league contract with an option in July," Rodriguez wrote on X. "If the Padres don't call him up to the big league team, the player can exit the contract if he so chooses." 

Leclerc has 41 career saves since making his debut with the Rangers in 2016. Consider him as backup insurance for Padres All-Star closer Mason Miller. 

What Leclerc offers Padres 

Leclerc is primarily a strikeout pitcher who has varying degrees of trouble with command. He underwent offseason shoulder surgery and threw just nine innings with the Athletics in 2025 after signing a $10 million contract with the AL West club. 

There's a chance he never sees the Majors with the Padres, who have one of the strongest bullpens on paper in the National League, headlined by Miller. Leclerc throws six pitches (fastball, slider, changeup, cutter, sinker, curveball) and has a 3.34 career ERA in 369.1 innings. 

This kind of signing adds extra depth to San Diego's Triple-A roster. Every club needs at least a handful of arms they can rely on to eat innings and hopefully, make an impact when their number is called upon. 

More MLB news:

• Blue Jays sign Joe Mantiply to minor league contract
• Dodgers’ Roki Sasaki will return to rotation, not bullpen according Dave Roberts
• Joey Wentz is out for the season with a torn ACL for the Braves
• Reds’ Hunter Greene to be out until July amid brutal injury news
• Braves predicted to trade Bryce Elder for Lars Nootbaar
• Jesus Luzardo’s $135 million extension is a steal for Phillies