There isn't a Rangers player who earns and gets more respect from fans in DFW, and all around the MLB map, than veteran third baseman Adrian Beltre.
The guy plays through severe pain, such as hernias and other awful things, and does it well, and now he's knocking on the door of putting together a Hall of Fame career entering his 18th season in the majors and his fifth with the Rangers.
Beltre could have technically been a free agent after this upcoming season with an option for 2016 that would vest if he reaches 586 plate appearances (he had 614 last year), which is frankly kind of iffy given his aging body and his chronic soft tissue issues.
Turns out, it doesn't matter, as the Rangers announced Monday afternoon that they have gone ahead and picked up his 2016 option, which will pay the veteran $16 million, meaning he won't be a free agent until the end of the 2016 season at age 37 and would be 38 during the first week of the 2017 season.
It's a smart move for the Rangers, as Jon Daniels had expressed concern in recent days about the distraction of whether Beltre would hit the plate appearance requirement, and it's clear the team wants Beltre to end his career in Texas and go to Cooperstown donning a Rangers cap.
