Rangers GM Jon Daniels Says Adrian Beltre Will Be Back Next Season
By Josh Clark
DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - Rangers general manager Jon Daniels shut down the possibility that the club's future Hall of Fame third baseman won't be in Arlington next season.
Various reports over the final days of the season insinuated that Adrian Beltre may not be a Texas Ranger despite being under contract in 2018. Beltre has already stated that he has no desire to go through a rebuild and Daniels has been steadfast in his comments that the club won't go down that path.
"Adrian's gonna be here next year and it's not really a question," Daniels told the Ben and Skin Show on 105.3 The Fan.
Daniels went on to reiterate his comments that the team wasn't looking to rebuild and told Beltre that wasn't the case. "It's not really a conversation we're going to have ... Adrian's a huge part today and really a big part of the future when you consider the impact he's had on all these guys."
Daniels also touched on the club's plans heading into the offseason. It's no secret that the Rangers need to add starting pitching this winter due to the fact that they only have Cole Hamels and Martin Perez from this year's rotation under contract for 2018. Daniels was asked what his approach would be this offseason and agreed they'd be looking to add some arms.
"It's gonna be a clear priority for us. I'm also aware it's going to be a clear priority for a lot of other teams. It's a demand heavy supply form market for starting pitching and I'm not going to sugarcoat it, we got two guys in (Cole) Hamels and Martin Perez that are locked into the rotation," Daniels said. "We've got quite a bit of work to do. We're going to look at a variety of areas from free agency, minor league free agency, Rule 5 to trades, all of the above. We have some young guys in the system but for the most part, they're not likely to be ready for opening day next year, and so that is going to be a clear priority for us to address this winter."
In addition to adding multiple arms to the rotation, Daniels is tasked with upgrading a bullpen that blew 21 games last season and forced a left-handed middle reliever (Alex Claudio) into the closer's role. While Claudio did an exceptional job in that spot after Sam Dyson and Matt Bush both failed, the club will likely need to add multiple arms to shore up the back end of the bullpen. But don't expect a big name free agent closer such as Wade Davis to come walking through the clubhouse doors, Daniels says.
"The bullpen needs to be addressed as well. I've definitely been a believer in the ability to build the bullpen without spending at the top of the market. The history of those deals are not great, in my opinion. "
Another big part of the offseason for Daniels and his staff will be how to address the fact that the club's lineup is full of left-handed hitters and the fact that some of the young players such as Rougned Odor struggled with their discipline at the plate this season.
"We have pretty good young position player depth, a little less depth in center field, a little less depth at catcher. We are definitely heavy on the left-hand side. That's something we're going to have to continue to look at. But a number of those guys are in their 20's and that's very encouraging," Daniels said. "We are a club that strikes out a lot. I think that some of that's going to be addressed in personnel and I think some of that's going to be addressed in development ... Discipline and strikeouts when we chase is something we're going to have to get better at and I believe that we will."
Daniels also said the club expects to announce a possible change to the coaching staff as soon as Wednesday.
