Texas Rangers: What To Expect From Adrian Beltre In 2018

Adrian Beltre is entering the final year of his current contract with the Texas Rangers. The 38-year-old veteran is entering his 21st season. After struggling with injuries last season, he’s looking to rejuvenate and show he’s still an elite ballplayer.

Despite playing in only 94 games, his lowest since his rookie season, Beltre made quite an impact. He became the first player born in the Dominican Republic to reach the 3,000-hit milestone, as well as the 17th to hit 600 doubles, and even the fourth player to have 3,000 hits, 600 doubles, and 450 home runs. He’s made quite a name for himself in a Texas Rangers uniform.

The injuries last season were certainly frightening, but it seems that there are no signs of Beltre hanging up his cleats anytime soon. He’s still hungry for a World Series ring, which is the only thing on his long list of accomplishments that remains unchecked. So what can we expect from Beltre this season?

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First and foremost, him staying healthy is our biggest and most important expectation. Of course, we can’t expect him to play all 162 games, but regardless, we’ll need to be 100 percent each day.

We can also expect him to pick up exactly where he left off and just go on from there in the hopes that he’ll break a few more records in 2018 and help the Texas Rangers reach the playoffs again and this time go deeper.

Beltre is still playing baseball at an elite level. He’s still getting at least 100 hits and hitting at least 10 homers per season. He’s even still making an impact on defense.

It’s likely he’ll compete for his usual third-base position. However, it would be no surprise if Beltre saw more time serving as team’s designated hitter. For Beltre to see more time as the designated hitter may seem to be a better fit for Beltre. It could reduce the risk of him suffering an injury and it’ll give the Rangers a chance to give some of the younger players a chance to see what they have in store. We might see him and Joey Gallo split time on third base this season.