Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre exited Tuesday night’s game against the Boston Red Sox after the top of the fourth inning with an apparent left quad injury.
Beltre, who was serving as the designated hitter, hit an RBI double off the Fenway Park center-field wall in the fourth but came up limping. He played out the remainder of the frame before hobbling back to the dugout and leaving the contest for good, with the Rangers ahead 8-0.
Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram noted that he will be replaced by Jim Adduci:
Wilson provided another update after the game:
Beltre, 35, has been dealing with a quad injury since spring training. He sat out at different points in March to give the muscles time to rest, but has found difficulty staying on the field consistently. It’s unknown whether Beltre further aggravated the injury or if Texas was looking for a convenient excuse to rest its ailing slugger.
Manager Ron Washington already put Beltre in as a DH for the first time all season, and was likely more comfortable with him sitting as the Rangers opened up a massive lead. Beltre played third base the first seven games of the season.
It has, however, been a rough start both in the field and at the plate. Beltre already has three errors on the season. Going back to 2013, Beltre, long one of the best defensive third basemen in baseball, has actually become a borderline net negative at the hot corner, per FanGraphs.
“He made some errors, but he looks fine to me,” Washington told T.R. Sullivan of the Rangers’ official website before Tuesday’s game. “After we came out of Tampa, it’s cold here, so today I’m going to give him a day off his feet. He’s going to make errors, but he’s fine.”
With one more game at third, Beltre will pass Phillies great Mike Schmidt for the fifth most in MLB history at that spot, per Sullivan.
While a 2-for-3 day upped Beltre’s average to a respectable .286, he hasn’t exactly been off to a hot start at the plate. He’s yet to hit a home run in 28 at-bats and is slugging just .393—more than 100 points off his 2013 rate.
Sample sizes are inherently small at this point of the season, so there’s no need to fret. But given his quad has been bothering him for more than a month and Beltre’s extensive history of leg injuries, it’s not outlandish to wonder whether he has been affected.
Josh Wilson, who started at third on Tuesday, stands to gain additional playing time if Beltre needs time off. The Rangers are in Boston for a mid-afternoon first pitch Wednesday before heading back home for a three-day series with the Houston Astros.
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