Rangers notes: Adrian Beltre locked up through 2016
Well, that didn’t take long.
A day after saying that the Texas Rangers could pick up the 2016 option on Adrian Beltre’s contract, general manager Jon Daniels announced on Monday that the club has picked up the option.
The Rangers had broached the subject with Beltre and agent Scott Boras within the past two weeks. Technically, the Rangers had to amend the contract to alter its original wording, and they were just waiting for Beltre to arrive to spring training to sign the deal.
He did so Monday, agreeing to be paid his 2016 salary of $16 million this season and his 2015 salary of $18 million next season.
Daniels said that the primary motivation to pick up the option, aside from ensuring Beltre’s presence on the 2016 roster, was to remove a clause that would have required him to reach 586 plate appearances to make the contract vest.
“Really a no-brainer for us,” Daniels said. “You’re talking about one of the best players in the game, a future Hall of Famer, a team leader.
“We just didn’t want it to be a story this summer. We didn’t want there to be a watch on the plate appearances.”
Daniels said that there has been internal discussion about offering Beltre a contract extension. With his age — Beltre turns 36 in April — and the financial security he has already obtained, there isn’t the urgency to make an extension as there would be with a young player, Daniels said.
“There’s no rush,” Daniels said. “We want him to be here, and he wants to be here.”
Profar out for year
Jurickson Profar’s shoulder surgery went well Monday morning, but the 22-year-old infielder will miss all of 2015, Daniels said. It’s the second consecutive season Profar has missed with the injury.
Team doctor Keith Meister repaired a tear in Profar’s right labrum. Nothing else was surgically repaired, Daniels said, leaving the possibility that no other issues were apparent. Profar will most likely return to hitting within a year, perhaps even in a game, Daniels said. But it will be a year before he’s able to throw at 100 percent.
Profar will get an MRI at the end of June and Meister will evaluate how the muscle is healing.
“We’re going to take it slow,” Daniels said. “The expectation is this will resolve the problem which has bothered him and frustrated all of us for the last year or so. The expectation is a full recovery.”
Utility infielder signed
The Rangers signed utility infielder Elliot Johnson to a minor league deal with an invitation to major league spring training. The move helps add depth with Profar’s absence. Johnson hit .105 in seven games with the Indians in 2014 after playing with four teams in the previous two seasons.
“With Jurickson down, Elliot goes into the infield mix at the upper levels,” Daniels said. “Versatile defender, plus runner, very good makeup. He can move around a little bit.”
Darvish dialed in
Pitcher Yu Darvish talked briefly with the Japanese media after his second throwing session this spring. Darvish said he had good power on his fastball. With pitching coach Mike Maddux’s urging, Darvish has been working on throwing his two-seem fastball up and in to right-handed hitters. He’s had catcher Chris Gimenez hold his glove higher to help.
“We’re pretty much locked in,” he said of Gimenez. “We seem to know what we want from each other.”
Jeff Wilson and
Stefan Stevenson
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This story was originally published February 23, 2015 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Rangers notes: Adrian Beltre locked up through 2016."