Back in spring training, the Texas Rangers lost third baseman Adrian Beltre to what initially appeared to be a minor calf injury. He went from day-to-day to week-to-week to missing the entire month of April, and now it sounds as though Beltre will miss even more time:
Rangers admit Adrian Beltre not progressing like they hoped....his rerurn seems later than sooner
— TR Sullivan (@Sullivan_Ranger) April 26, 2017
Calf injuries are similar to oblique injuries. They can take a long time to heal, and if you rush back, they're very easy to reaggravate. Add in the fact Beltre is 38 years old -- let's be real here, 38-year-olds don't heal as quickly as 28-year-olds -- and it's not too much of a surprise his rehab is taking longer than initially expected.
In the meantime, the Rangers have been playing young slugger Joey Gallo at third base, and Gallo will go into Wednesday night's game with a .224/.333/.612 (155 OPS+) batting line and an AL-leading seven home runs. The .224 batting average and 34.6 percent strikeout rate are ugly, no doubt about it, but the Rangers will live with it because Gallo can do this:
That monster 462-foot home run is the longest hit by any player so far this season. And it didn't come out of nowhere. Gallo is a former top prospect -- Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and MLB.com all ranked Gallo as one of the 10 best prospects in baseball going into the 2016 season -- thanks largely to his power potential. The young man is capable of hitting moonshots. And yes, he will swing and miss some too. You take the good with the bad.
Weirdly enough, it seemed as though Gallo was falling out of favor with the Rangers as recently as spring training, following an offseason in which he receiving seemingly little consideration for their open first base and DH jobs. Then Beltre hurt his calf and forced the team's hand. They had little choice but to play Gallo at the hot corner and he's done a nice job providing power and sneaky good defense. Texas should be thrilled.
Fantasy writer Chris Towers took a look at Gallo's improvements earlier this week to determine whether or not they have a chance at sticking. You can check that out here.
Beltre's injury means Gallo will stay in the lineup a few more weeks at least, but once Beltre returns, where does Gallo fit into the lineup? The Rangers won't send him down to Triple-A as long as he's hitting balls 450-plus feet. Having him split some time with Beltre at third base and DH -- getting Beltre off his feet fairly regularly soon after the calf injury wouldn't be a bad idea -- is one option, though that means Shin-Soo Choo would have to play outfield.
These things have a way of working themselves out. And regardless of how the Rangers get both Gallo and Beltre into the lineup, it now appears Gallo has the inside track to be the club's third baseman of the future. Beltre is 38 after all, and his contract expires following next season. At some point Texas will have to think about life at the hot corner after Beltre. Fortunately for them, Gallo is showing he's up to the task of handling the position on a daily basis.
