Adrian Beltre, in the end, will get his sixth year. Well, more accurately, Scott Boras will get Beltre that sixth year.
According to Tim Brown of Yahoo Sports, the Rangers and Beltre are nearing a six-year deal that could be finalized Tuesday. Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman reported the deal will be worth between $90 million and $100 million.
If the deal is reached, it's a major addition to a Rangers team that won the American League last year. However, it comes at a steep price for a player who greatly underperformed when signing his previous megadeal.
After putting his name on the dotted line of a five-year, $64 million deal in December 2004, Beltre hit just .266 with an average of 21 homers and 79 RBIs per season. Given that his '04 season saw him mash 48 homers and drive in 121 runs, the Mariners likely weren't happy with what they paid for (though the back-to-back Gold Gloves certainly had their value).
Last offseason, Beltre signed a one-year deal with the Red Sox to prove himself, and that he did. The third baseman played in 154 games, hitting .321 with 28 homers, 102 RBIs and a .919 OPS — tops on the team. The Red Sox, however, never seemed serious about re-signing Beltre, instead opting to acquire the younger Adrian Gonzalez via trade and slide Kevin Youkilis across the diamond to fill the void left by Beltre.
