Texas Rangers: When will Adrian Beltre Return?

The Rangers are playing their 16th game on Thursday without third baseman Adrian Beltre. It’s been a 5-10 start, and Beltre is still out. When should Rangers fans expect the veteran slugger to be back in the lineup?

Originally the Texas Rangers thought they were only going to be without third baseman Adrian Beltre for roughly ten games. He still remains on the disabled list with no timetable in sight, but there is reason to hope.

According to T.R. Sullivan, Beltre did some light running on Wednesday, but is not up to full speed just yet. Its been tough especially with a strained calf injury because those types of problems have a habit of lingering.

The Rangers are off to a rough start, but manager Jeff Banister doesn’t believe it’s because Beltre is down. According to T.R. Sullivan, Banister had this to say about the absence of Beltre.

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“I’m not going to put anything on Adrian being out of the lineup,” Banister said. “We have been without Yu Darvish, without Derek Holland, without Adrian, been without a number of key players both the past two seasons. Do we want Adrian back? Yes, we need Adrian in the lineup. But if you start looking at that, it creates a mindset that, hey [the losing] is OK, we don’t have Adrian.”

Youngster Joey Gallo took over at third base, but has gone cold after a red-hot start to the season. Prior to Thursday’s game Gallo was hitting .188 with three home runs and 10 RBI in 15 games this season.

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It’s clear this team is missing Beltre’s leadership on the field, but they need to keep fighting. It doesn’t sound like he’s nearing a return and could still be a couple of weeks away from rejoining the lineup. Once Beltre returns he could be the bat they need to spark a run, but they need to learn how to win without him.