Texas Rangers: Adrian Beltre likely headed to the DL
After an entertaining baserunning adventure early in Tuesday’s Texas Rangers game, Adrian Beltre was injured late in the game.
Injuries continue to mount for the Texas Rangers, and this one hurts them on the field and in the clubhouse. After an entertaining attempt at stealing two bases on a dead ball in the second inning of Tuesday’s game against the Oakland A’s, Adrian Beltre pulled up injured after hitting a single in the eighth inning of the game.
With the Texas Rangers down 3-1 in the bottom of the eighth inning, Adrian Beltre stepped to the plate with Shin-Soo Choo on first base and two out. On a 3-2 count, Adrian Beltre smacked a single into deep right field, scoring Choo with the Texas Rangers second run of the game.
Unfortunately, Adrian Beltre pulled up as he ran to first. When time was called, he walked off the field with a strained left hamstring.
Beltre will have an MRI on Wednesday (today) to determine the full extent of the injury. He missed almost half of last season with injuries to his right calf and left hamstring and didn’t sound too optimistic about this injury after the game. He said, “We’ll see tomorrow. It’s not feeling great.”
The Texas Rangers already have a starting shortstop Elvis Andrus and starting second baseman Rougned Odor on the DL, along with a half-dozen pitchers. They recently activated outfielder Delino DeShields from the DL and Odor should be back soon from his hamstring injury, but Andrus is still a month or more away from returning. He suffered a broken elbow when he was hit by a 96 mph fastball by Los Angeles Angels closer Keynan Middleton earlier this season.
With the injuries mounting, the Texas Rangers are falling further and further behind in the AL West. They are 8-17 and 8.5 games behind the Los Angeles Angels. Every other team in the division is over .500. The Texas Rangers are 25th out of the 30 MLB teams in hitting (wRC+), 24th in team ERA, and dead last in Fangraphs’ defensive metric.
If they haven’t made the decision already, now is the time for ownership to look to the future. They tried to patch together a rotation with Doug Fister, Matt Moore, Martin Perez, and Bartolo Colon but, other than Colon, it isn’t working. And who knows how long Colon can continue to baffle hitters with an 88 mph fastball that he throws 86 percent of the time? Cole Hamels hasn’t been a staff ace either, with a 4.76 ERA (5.26 FIP).
The Fangraphs projected standings have the Texas Rangers finishing 25 games behind the Astros in the division and 12 games out of a wild card spot. That was before Adrian Beltre’s injury. With that grim outlook, the time is now for Willie Calhoun to get a chance to play every day at the big league level. They could move Joey Gallo to third base and put Calhoun in left field, or they could move Mazara to left, Choo to right, and put Calhoun at DH if they don’t trust his glove.
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Adrian Beltre’s injury is a tough blow to the Texas Rangers in multiple ways. Not only is he the heart and soul of the team, but he’s also still a good player and would have been a good trade piece.
He still could be, but that trade will now likely come later rather than sooner, and his recent injury history will lessen the return the team will get.
Adrian Beltre will be a free agent at the end of the season, so he doesn’t have years and money remaining on an expensive contract, like Shin-Soo Choo.
Shin-Soo Choo is owed $20 million this year and $21 million in each of the next two years. If they can find a team to take Choo, the Texas Rangers will have to eat considerable salary.
Cole Hamels is another veteran trade candidate, but he’s still owed $22.5 million this year, with a $6 million buyout for next year. He had a 4.20 ERA last year (4.62 FIP) and has a 4.76 ERA (5.26 FIP) this year.
The one thing that might help him is that he’s been better away from Texas, so a team could bank on him improving should they trade for him. Of course, the Texas Rangers will have to eat some of that salary as well.
Next: Beltre the most under the radar (future) MLB Hall of Famer?
As for Adrian Beltre, this is a terrible blow. He was a durable player in his late 30s but has struggled with injuries in each of the last two seasons. He’s 23rd on the all-time list for career hits, just 16 behind his former teammate in Seattle, Ichiro Suzuki.
He’s 36th in career home runs, just one behind Miguel Cabrera. Based on projections, a healthy Beltre could have moved into the top-16 all-time in career hits and the top 30 all-time in home runs. We’ll have to see what the MRI on Wednesday has to say about the rest of his season.