Rangers interested in keeping Beltre around after 2016
Third baseman Adrian Beltre will turn 37 on April 7 and is in the final year of his contract with the Texas Rangers, but the club hopes he'll stick around longer than that.
Recently, GM Jon Daniels admitted as much, emphasizing in a quote to MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan that the Rangers would very much prefer the veteran and cornerstone of the roster remains with the organization he's been with since 2011:
Beltre played through some nagging injuries in 2015 but still wound up with a strong year offensively, hitting .287/.334/.453 with 18 home runs, 83 RBI, a WAR of 5.8 and an all-time record for games played by players from the Dominican Republic. There's no underselling Beltre's importance to the Rangers, so it makes total sense for Daniels to go out and speak so highly of him.
"We would like to keep him," Daniels said. "Forget him retiring as a Ranger. We want to keep him [playing] as a Ranger. We are well aware of his contract. We have to sit down and get after it. It's important to us. We would like for him to be here. He is one of our best players."
As for Mitch Moreland, also set for free agency after the 2016 season, it isn't likely that he's going anywhere either. There have been rumors regarding Moreland recently, but Daniels effectively quashed those by saying that the club isn't looking to move him at the moment:
Previously, the Rangers had a bit of a tough call to make regarding Moreland and first baseman/DH Mike Napoli, though at this point it's unclear if they will retain Napoli on the free agent market.
"Mitch came into his own last year and added a lot of offense, really tapped into his potentials," Daniels said. "He played well defensively and was comfortable in the environment created in the clubhouse. He came out of his shell and took a leadership role. He's one of the guys being asked about. I'm not saying absolutely, but I'm not motivated to move Moreland. If something comes up, it's our job to look at it, but we're not looking to move him."
