Everyone sit down, I have some great news:
According to T.R. Sullivan of MLB.com, the Texas Rangers and Adrian Beltre have agreed to an extension that would keep the future Hall of Fame third baseman in Texas through 2018. The deal is reported to be for $18 million per year. Beltre would be 39 when the contract expires.
There was talk during Spring Training that Beltre and his agent wanted a third year, and were looking for $19 million or more per year. The idea was that Beltre's camp felt he was worth more than Pablo Sandoval, who signed a $95 million contract after the 2014 season. Of course, Sandoval was 28 at the time. But given Sandoval's performance in Boston, it's hard to argue that Beltre's camp was incorrect.
Beltre is a living legend, a fan favorite, and maybe most importantly, leading the league in WAR at 1.1 in his age-37 season. While it might not be atop the list of best practices to sign 37-year-old infielders to $18 million-per-year contracts, there are exceptions to every rule.
If Adrian Beltre isn't that exception, good luck coming up with someone who is.
At 415 career home runs and 2,780 hits, the extension probably won't get Beltre to 500 home runs in a Rangers uniform, but it almost certainly means that his 3,000th hit will be as a Ranger.
The question for the front office now shifts to: What does this mean for Joey Gallo and Jurickson Profar?
Never mind that now. Adrian Beltre is a national treasure, and we get to keep him for at least two more seasons beyond this one. That's good enough for the moment.
