In the midst of his 21st season in the Majors, Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is undecided if he will extend his career beyond 2018. Related to that is Beltre being in the final year of a two-year, $36 million contract extension signed in April 2016.
It was as recently as two weeks ago that the 39-year-old publicly questioned if he was approaching the time to hang up his cleats. Three separate hamstring injuries have limited him to 94 games this season.
It’s the same number Beltre played in during the 2017 campaign because of calf and hamstring injuries. He was shut down in September once the Rangers were eliminated from postseason contention.
That marked the first time since 1998 that Beltre didn’t appear in at least 111 games. If this season indeed is his last, Beltre would have been afforded the opportunity to play regular-season games against the Los Angeles Dodgers franchise he broke into the Majors with.
With the Dodgers just wrapping up a sweep of the Rangers, Cody Bellinger can lay claim to receiving a pair of cleats from the future Hall-of-Famer, according to Pedro Moura of The Athletic:
This is the next in a long installment of Adrián Beltré sending gifts to the opposition: Yesterday, Cody Bellinger asked Beltré about his Jordan Brand cleats. Today, Beltré sent over a new blue pair in Bellinger’s size.
— Pedro Moura (@pedromoura) August 30, 2018
Bellinger went a combined 3-for-8 with a triple and home run in the two games at Globe Life Park. His home run on Wednesday night was one of three the Dodgers hit in their 3-1 victory.
That extended their winning streak to a season-high tying five games and set the stage for a showdown this weekend with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Meanwhile, Beltre finished the season 7-for-15 with two doubles and two RBI in four games against the Dodgers this season. He spoke fondly of the franchise during the Rangers’ visit to Dodger Stadium in June.
