Scott Rovak – USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to Carlos Beltran, the teams that are coming up as possible suitors are the New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals and even the Boston Red Sox. However, the Texas Rangers could very well be a suitor for the 36-year-old free agent outfielder.
The Rangers will have an opening in their outfield with the likely departure of Nelson Cruz and with the rotation appearing set with the healthy return of Matt Harrison, it looks like the Rangers will be spending their free agent dollars on offense this offseason.
Beltran would be a nice addition for the Rangers despite his age and bad knee. Beltran can play a few days a week in the outfield and DH when not in the field, giving his knee a rest while keeping his bat in the lineup. Last season, Beltran hit .296/.339/.491 with 24 home runs, 84 RBI, 79 runs scored and 30 doubles. Beltran’s power numbers took a slight dip from the previous season when he hit 32 but it isn’t drastic enough to think he wouldn’t be able come close to last season’s performance.
Beltran’s postseason performance was something to watch as he accounted for almost half of the Cardinals’ runs in the postseason this year and has always been a consistent performer when the weather cools and the lights grow brighter.
The Rangers’ offense took a slight hit last season going from 808 runs scored in 2012 to 730 runs scored last season. This can be attributed to Josh Hamilton leaving as a free agent and Nelson Cruz missing a significant chunk of time due to a PED suspension as well as a terrible year at the plate from Elvis Andrus.
The Rangers obviously need offense. It would be great if they could find a young, impact bat but that isn’t something that really exists in this market. If Cruz proves too expensive then Beltran would be a nice fall back option for the Rangers. They will have competition, specifically from the teams mentioned above but the Rangers do have a few dollars to spend. Keep an eye out for the Rangers in the Beltran sweepstakes.
Chris is a Senior Writer as well as the Hiring and Recruiting Manager for Rant sports. Follow Chris on Twitter and “Like” his page on Facebook.
