Is it possible the Rangers are pursing Adrian Beltre to make a Cliff Lee signing more likely? If the Rangers sign Beltre, they can go to Lee and say, “Who would you rather have fielding all those ground balls off right-handed bats, Alex Rodriguez and Derek Jeter or Adrian Beltre and Elvis Andrus? With Michael Young out of the picture, Texas would clearly put better defense behind Cliff.

Cliff Lee ground ball distribution 2010 vs. RHB.

Over the last three seasons, Beltre posted a UZR/150 of 15.3. Young came in at -7.6 and A-Rod at -4.4. At shortstop, Andrus averages 6.7 and Jeter 0.7. Cliff’s ERA should look a lot better in Texas if Beltre is playing third.

Thanks to Baseball Analytics for the hit chart.