The Texas Rangers' playoff push took a major hit when the team found out that third baseman Adrian Beltre is out for at least four weeks with a grade two strain in his hamstring. There is a legitimate shot that Beltre could miss the rest of the season. The Rangers are four games out of the second wild card spot.
Rangers offense takes huge hit
Beltre was hitting .314 with 15 home runs and 66 runs batted in. The 38-year-old hit his 3,000th career hit this season, but the Rangers have been battling around .500. The team is 66-67 on the season as Beltre has been a consistent hitter this season despite battling other injuries.
With Beltre gone, others are going to have to step up. If the Rangers make the playoffs, there's a chance that Beltre could come back to help in the postseason. However, if the team does not make the cut, they could shut down Beltre completely. It's unknown if this was Beltre's last season now that Beltre hit a major milestone.
Rangers trending down with others trending up
The Houston Astros are miles ahead of everyone else in the division, but the Rangers, Seattle Mariners, and Los Angeles Angels are in the mix for the second wild card slot. The Angels are 1.5 games back, while the Mariners are 4.5 games back. The Mariners traded for Mike Leake and David Phelps to bolster their pitching staff.
The Angels recently traded for Justin Upton from the Detroit Tigers and Brandon Phillips from the Atlanta Braves.
The Rangers are going to have a tough time matching up with the Angels' offense now. The heart of the order is dangerous for Los Angeles with Albert Pujols, Mike Trout, Upton, and Phillips. We will see how they match up as the teams play a weekend series.
Moving forward
The Rangers dealt Yu Darvish at the trade deadline with the mindset that they were not going to make the playoffs. The Rangers went on a hot streak to put themselves in a position to make a run for the playoffs, but the odds are now stacked against them. The Rangers are stuck in the middle, which is a tough spot to be.
The Rangers are likely to miss out on the playoffs, and only pick in the middle of the draft.
The injury to Beltre could mean the end of his career. The future Hall of Famer does not have more to prove. The only accomplishment that Beltre was not able to attain was to win a World Series. If Beltre decides he wants to return, the injury is not career-threatening, so he could make a comeback if he still wants to compete.
