Texas Rangers plan to keep Adrian Beltre and contend in 2018
As long as the Texas Rangers plan to compete in 2018, Adrian Beltre will be part of the team.
Adrian Beltre is a national treasure. He’s one of the most entertaining players in baseball to watch and Rangers fans have had the pleasure of rooting for him for the last seven years. If things go as planned, Beltre will be back in Texas for an eighth season in 2018.
The key to Beltre’s return is the short-term outlook for the Rangers. Beltre will be 39 years old next April. He’s played 20 years in the major leagues and has over 3000 career hits and more than 450 career home runs. He’s been an All-Star four times, won five Gold Gloves, and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting six times. He should go right into the Hall of Fame the first year he’s eligible.
The one thing Beltre doesn’t have is a World Series ring. His teams have made the postseason five times in his career. Four times they came up short of the World Series. The one time they got to the World Series, in 2011 with Texas, they lost in seven games to the St. Louis Cardinals. That was Beltre’s first year with the Rangers. They’ve been to the playoffs three times since but haven’t advanced beyond the ALDS.
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With his career winding down, Beltre wants to play for a team that is competitive. Luckily for Rangers fans, it appears that Texas GM Jon Daniels is on the same page. In a SportsDay article, Daniels said of Beltre, “He wanted to know that we intend to win with his current teammates and that we have a chance. And that is very much where our mindset is.”
Beltre would like more than anything to bring the first World Series title to Texas. The franchise has been in Arlington since 1972 and has made the postseason just eight times in 46 years. In addition to the World Series they lost in Beltre’s first year with the team, they also lost the World Series the year before. They are one of eight teams that has never won the Fall Classic.
Daniels, of course, also wants to win the World Series. What GM doesn’t? He believes the team can be competitive, but he won’t break the bank in free agency, saying, “I don’t think this is the year we’re going to push 10 All-Star players [on the free agent market], but I believe we can contend.” Just to throw a little uncertainty into the mix, he also said, “If [the mindset] changes, I told him [Beltre] I’d let him know.”
To be clear, Beltre loves playing in Texas. He loves the fans and his teammates. He has a particularly entertaining love-hate relationship with shortstop Elvis Andrus. The two are like big brother and annoying little brother. Andrus signed a long-term deal before the 2015 season that could keep him in Texas until 2023, but he has an opt-out after the 2018 and 2019 seasons. There’s a chance the Rangers won’t have Beltre or Andrus after this season.
Beltre is in the second year of a 2-year, $36 million contract with the Rangers. He can be a free agent at the end of the year. He’s coming off a year in which leg injuries limited him to 94 games, but he hit .312/.383/.532 when he was on the field and was still good on defense. Despite playing a little more than half a season, Beltre was worth three Wins Above Replacement (3.1 WAR, per Fangraphs). He looks like he has plenty left in the tank but, again, he will be 39 next season. He’s running out of time to get that ring.
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If the Rangers stick with their plan to compete in 2018, Beltre will be there on Opening Day. Should they change their mind, they would have to trade him to a contender, as he has a full no-trade clause. Even if he starts next season in Arlington, he could still be traded during the season if the team struggles. Rangers fans can be happy that Beltre appears to be coming back, but they should enjoy him while they can.