The Rangers have positioned themselves to be in the forefront of a bullpen revolution that is sweeping the game.
They have a closer: right-hander Shawn Tolleson. They have two holdovers with closer's stuff: right-handers Sam Dyson and Keone Kela.
They continued to focus on the bullpen with their most significant offseason additions to date. Right-handers Tom Wilhelmsen, obtained from Seattle, and Tony Barnette, from Yakult of the Japan Pacific League, have closer's experience.
Combined, that gives manager Jeff Banister a chance to get away from the usual thinking on how to use a bullpen.
Banister could have the option of using a closer-type reliever in the middle innings, when games often begin to spin out of control because hitters are facing the starter for a third time.