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The Texas Rangers went out and got them a third baseman during the offseason after they had trouble landing any of the starting pitching that they wanted. It may have been a case of they had too much money to spend and they just wanted to spend it, or it may be that the Rangers thought that this was the best they could do given the circumstances and the players they had already missed out on. My feelings on the Beltre signing are well documented (see “The Case Against Adrian Beltre in the archives). 
But, it is too late to do anything about it so Beltre is the Rangers third baseman for the foreseeable future. As we have seen with Michael Young, just because you sign a big contract does not mean that you will have your job for a really long time. When Mike signed, remember, he was the starting short stop. Chew on that for a minuet.
Anyway, lets look at what Beltre will do for the team in the 2011 season. As most of you that read the articles here at the Ranger Report know, Beltre is injured right now. He is taking batting practice today and hopes to be back in the lineup very soon, but we will see how that goes. He is missing a good chunk of spring training, and that will probably not bode well for him coming out of the gates swinging, so to speak. If he stays healthy, and that is looking like a major if right now, Beltre will most likely play in 130 to 145 games, leaving somewhere in the ballpark of 30 games (give or take) for his back up or backups to play. Beltre has more defensive range than Michael Young, but he lacks the team leadership of Mike. He also is not nearly as consistent at the plate as Young. He does have more power overall than Young, and he is about the same on walks. So where does that leave us? In my opinion, it leaves us about the same at 3rd base. Maybe a little more power and a little more range at the hot corner, but that is about it. If he is hurt, however for any length of the season, then the Rangers are going to want to still have one Chris Davis (Crush) on the roster.
Crush is a great fielder, there is no doubt about it. Other than his first season, though, he has not really shown anything at the plate. He strikes out WAY too much, he almost never walks, and he is not really a base stealer either. If Chris can work theses things out (and remember Nelson Cruz took quite a while to turn into the power house that he is today), Crush has a chance to be something special. Will he start the season in the majors? I say no, and he may not even be a Ranger for too much longer, but I would be hesitant right now if I were the Rangers on getting rid of a guy like Chris Davis. If Adrian is hurt and Michael Young winds up getting traded, then you have a serious problem at third. Chris could potentially solve that problem, and he is also a great 1st baseman. I will be interested to see what the Rangers will wind up doing with both Crush and Face.
We all know about what Young is capable of at third, the Rangers went to the World Series with Young there, and again he is the super utility guy, so he will be playing all infield positions. I look more forward to a Ranger team with Michael Young on it than I do to a team without him, that is all I have to say about that.
So, that concludes the Ranger Report series on all the positions on the team, go back and read some of the other ones if you would like, and lets continue getting ready for the season opener, which is now just over 3 weeks away!! Hope you enjoy reading these as much as I enjoy writing them.
