Adrian Gonzalez leaves Dodgers-Australia exhibition game with lower-back tightness

By Craig CalcaterraMar 20, 2014, 10:30 AM EDT
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While you were sleeping, the Dodgers were playing the Australian national team in an exhibition game. Yep, just a harmless exhibition game:

 

Backs can get tight for any reason. But if, as I suspect, a lot of players hate the idea of flying halfway around the world to play baseball games like this, Gonzalez should do his fellow union members a solid and talk up how much sitting on airplane for 15 hours played into the back tightness. It may not be the truth, but your friends will thank you so much for saying it, Adrian.

Rangers don’t plan to make qualifying offer to Adrián Beltré

Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
By Bill BaerOct 22, 2018, 9:07 PM EDT
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Rangers GM Jon Daniels said he doesn’t expect the club to make a $17.9 million qualifying offer to free agent third baseman Adrián Beltré, MLB.com’s T.R. Sullivan reports. Daniels has been in touch with the 39-year-old, who may retire.

Beltré battled hip and hamstring issues throughout the past season, limiting him to 119 games. He hit .273/.328/.434 with 15 home runs and 65 RBI in 481 plate appearances. Going by adjusted OPS, his mark of 98 — 100 is average — was his lowest in a season since 2009 with the Mariners. Beltré’s career average is 116 and he put up a 132 in 2017 and 128 in ’16.

Beltré appears to have some stuff left in the tank. He may not be an All-Star-caliber player anymore, but he can still hit at an average level and he is still an above-average defender. It’s just a matter of his body holding up to allow him to do what he needs to do. If Beltré does decide to re-up with the Rangers for 2019, the club will be prepared to move Isiah Kiner-Falefa or Jurickson Profar over to the hot corner as they did in 2018 in the event Beltré gets bitten by the injury bug.