The Rangers have made it official, announcing their signing of third baseman Adrian Beltre. They will hold a press conference at 2:30 PM EST to introduce Beltre.
While it’s seemed to be a relatively sure thing since Tuesday, it’s good to have an official declaration out of Texas following the roller coaster ride that was the Adrian Beltre sweepstakes.
For Texas, this is a solid addition to a good team. They get a huge defensive boost by replacing Michael Young at third, and if Beltre can keep most of his offense from 2010 in the cozy confines of Arlington, then that’s another big bat in an already impressive lineup.
If the contract comes in at the 6-year, $96 million figure that has been reported, though, it’s not likely to really be a very smart deal. Beltre is 31-going-on-32, and by no means a sure thing at the plate given his up-and-down career to date. This could end up being something of an albatross contract in the upcoming years. How, exactly, does Scott Boras do it?
For Los Angeles, it means they dodge the potential albatross contract, but also lose just about any chance of competing in 2011. The team needed some kind of infusion of talent beyond the return of Kendry Morales, and with Adrian Beltre slipping through their grasp, there’s a massive hole at third base, from which the Angels received no production last year.
Finally, for Boston, it means mostly good things. Their compensatory draft pick gets bumped up about 40 places from where it would have been had the Angels signed Beltre. And any new bad contracts on contenders in the league is good news. The only question is how much stronger this makes the team that is arguably their greatest competition in the American League.