ARLINGTON -- The Rangers initially hoped they would get third baseman Adrian Beltre back before the end of April.
That isn't going to happen, and May is starting to look murky too as he continues to experience soreness in his right calf muscle. The Rangers have no timetable for his return and continue the refrain they are taking a conservative approach.
"It's at the point where we didn't necessarily see the progress results we thought we would see," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "We decided to take a step back and get him back to where the soreness and [swelling] is out of there. We weren't progressing forward at the rate we wanted to."
Beltre began the season on the disabled list with tightness in the calf muscle. He was hoping to be back after the first week but that plan was scratched when he re-aggravated the muscle working out on April 8. A subsequent MRI showed a Grade 1 muscle, which is considered mild.
Banister said Beltre hasn't had another setback. It's just the lack of progress that has concerned the Rangers.
"It's getting better but not where we expect it to be," Banister said. "We're still in the rehab mode. We tried to get the [swelling] and soreness out. We're continuing to work on it."
Joey Gallo has been playing third base in his absence. Gallo entered Wednesday's game with seven home runs, tied for the most in the American League. He was tied for fifth with 16 RBIs and even though he was hitting .224, he was sixth in the league with a .612 slugging percentage.
The Rangers are eager to get Beltre back but are not going to push it.
"Ultimately we want Adrian on the field," Banister said. "We are a much better ballclub with Adrian on the field. But it's no different…anytime a player is injured for a length of time and not on the field, you better have prepared yourself for that. I think we prepared ourselves. When Adrian is better, that's when he'll be on the field."