Beltre to open season on DL with nagging calf injury
It turns out the Texas Rangers will need to use their "last resort," as third baseman Adrian Beltre will begin the season on the 10-day disabled list due to a troublesome right calf, manager Jeff Banister told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News.
He will be replaced at the hot corner on Opening Day by Joey Gallo.
Beltre initially injured his calf earlier in camp, though he recovered in time to join the Dominican Republic at the World Baseball Classic. On Sunday against the Los Angeles Dodgers, however, Beltre reaggravated the ailment, and was removed from the contest before undergoing an MRI the following day.
The 37-year-old said Wednesday he wasn't ready to entertain the idea of landing on the disabled list to open the 2017 campaign.
"That's not an option right now," Beltre said. "That's a last resort. My mindset is to start the season until I find out something different."
Despite turning 38 in a week's time, Beltre has avoided serious injury throughout his career, appearing in a total of 2,720 regular-season contests with the Dodgers, Seattle Mariners, Boston Red Sox, and Rangers over 19 big-league seasons.