ARLINGTON -- Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre took live batting practice off Minor League pitchers on Saturday. He has also progressed to the point where he can run the bases, but not at top speed.
"I don't think he's been 100 percent yet," manager Jeff Banister said. "100 percent is a little bit of a misnomer in practice; 100 percent in game speed, the only way to get to that is to get in games. There's a practice speed of 100 percent, and I don't know that he's at that yet."
The next step is to decide if Beltre is ready to be activated on Sunday after beginning the season on the disabled list with tightness in his right calf. The Rangers remain noncommittal on the possibility.
"The bottom line is, we are in the information-gathering stage, and how he feels," Banister said. "We'll go from there."
The Rangers are off on Monday, so they could wait and give Beltre a couple extra days of rest. They could also let him play for Double-A Frisco on Sunday to get some needed at-bats.
"The only thing that is going to affect our decision is where Adrian is at and where the medical team is at," Banister said.