Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre will begin the season on the DL, T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com tweets. Beltre turned up with a tight calf on Monday and hasn’t appeared in a Spring Training game since. An MRI that day didn’t turn up anything serious, as Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. It’s possible, then, that Beltre won’t be out long. Until he returns, slugger Joey Gallo will be first in line for playing time at third base, tweets Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News. Jurickson Profar is another potential option. Here are more quick notes on West rosters.
- The Athletics have decided to set their roster with eight relievers, with Frankie Montas and Daniel Coulombe both making the cut, as various reporters have tweeted, including Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California and Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The club has sent outfielder Jaff Decker to the minors, leaving the A’s with a three-man bench and Mark Canha as their only backup outfielder. As for Montas, the A’s reportedly still see him as a starter in the long term, but after he missed most of last season due to a rib injury, having him begin the season in the bullpen allows the A’s to limit his innings. The A’s acquired Montas at last year’s August 1 trade deadline along with two more interesting young hurlers (Jharel Cotton and Grant Holmes) for Rich Hill and Josh Reddick.
- Catcher Tim Federowicz doesn’t plan to opt out of his minor-league deal with the Giants unless he receives a big-league contract, Carl Steward of the Bay Area News Group tweets. Federowicz has received interest from other clubs, but no big-league offers. The 29-year-old Federowicz played briefly over parts of four seasons with the Dodgers, then missed much of the 2015 season to a knee injury after heading to San Diego in the Matt Kemp/Yasmani Grandal trade. He briefly appeared in the big leagues with the Cubs last year.
arcadia Ldogg
Love Beltre. Take your time coming back. It’s always nice to watch that hall of famer.
bkwalker510
Montas should probably just close for the A’s
ronnsnow
A 3 man bench? Sorry I think it’s time for the A’s to move on from Billy Beane. Most overrated GM in baseball.
Sirsleepit
He’s not the gm and hasn’t been for a while. You should probably update your baseball knowledge 🙂
failedstate
First, as Sirsleepit posted out, Beane isn’t the GM. Second, if you have multiple position guys in the AL it minimizes the need to carry a deep offensive bench. While not unheard of, it isn’t as uncommon as you think. Billy Beane isn’t the best ‘GM’ in baseball but he’s probably still in the top 10 and there are tons who are much worse.
failedstate
Quick clarification, players who can play multiple positions…. Poor wording on my part.