On Sunday, Adrian Beltre was nearing a deal with the Texas Rangers. But then on Monday, that deal was off. Now, on Tuesday, it appears the deal is back, with the Rangers and Beltre close on a six-year contract, according to Yahoo! Sports' Tim Brown. The contract could be finalized as soon as Tuesday.
Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman tweets that if the deal is finalized with Texas, it's likely to be in the $90-100 million range. The Rangers current third baseman, Michael Young, has already said he's willing to move to DH to allow Beltre, a defensive wiz, to take the position on an everyday basis.
Beltre spent the 2010 season playing on a one-year deal with the Boston Red Sox. He was the team's leader on offense, hitting .321/.365/.553 with 28 home runs and an OPS+ of 141, the second-highest mark of his career. While Beltre is a great addition for the defending American League champion Rangers, there will likely always be the fear of a repeat performance of the last time he signed a big contract.
After putting his name on the dotted line of a five-year, $64 million deal in December 2004, Beltre hit just .266 with an average of 21 homers and 79 RBIs per season. Given that his '04 season saw him mash 48 homers and drive in 121 runs, the Mariners likely weren't happy with what they paid for (though the back-to-back Gold Gloves certainly had their value).