Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is doubtful to make the Opening Day lineup despite a lingering calf injury.
It’s never a good thing for a major league team to play without one of its star players on Opening Day – particularly when that player is a future Hall of Famer, one of the greatest defensive third basemen of all-time, and the top performer in the lineup.
According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the Texas Rangers aren’t yet sure whether or not Adrian Beltre will be available Monday when the team hosts the Cleveland Indians, or whether the soon to be 38-year old will begin the season on the disabled list because of stiffness in his right calf.
A muscle strain in his left calf put Beltre’s availability for the World Baseball Classic in early March, but the .286/.338/.480 lifetime hitter proved healthy enough to spend two weeks playing for his native Dominican Republic. He was 1-for-12 in the tournament, but returned to the Rangers seemingly healthy.
Beltre played his eighth spring training game Sunday March 26, and walked in his only plate appearance.He reportedly woke up with tightness in his right calf on Monday, and underwent an MRI that day. Beltre has yet to get a hit with the Rangers this spring, and is 0-for-12 in Cactus League play.
Losing Beltre would be big for Texas as the Rangers begin their quest for a third consecutive AL West title. In 153 games last season, Beltre hit .300/.358/.521 with 32 home runs and 104 RBI. He also added 32 doubles and scored 89 runs and won his fifth Gold Glove on defense. Beltre led the Rangers with a 6.1 WAR according to FanGraphs. He ranked No. 9 overall among MLB position players.
Beltre has been remarkably healthy over the course of his 19-year big league career. Since making his major league debut in 1998 at the age of 19, Beltre has played in at least 140 games 14 times. He has 445 career home runs and 2,942 career hits.
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If Beltre hits the DL, his stay should be short. The injury itself isn’t expected to linger, and because the Rangers are able to backdate the injury, Beltre is likely to miss just the first five games. Young slugger Joey Gallo would likely play third base in Beltre’s absence.