Nomar Mazara’s two-run single in the seventh tied the game, and the Rangers would tack on two more to win it 7-6.

The face of the franchise is about to smile on us once again. Adrian Beltre is ready to come off the DL.

That is going to cause a lot of lineup juggling, right when the lineup seems to finally be  finding some momentum. According to T. R. Sullivan at mlb.com, the Rangers are hitting .261 in their last nine games, with an on-base percentage of .372, beefed up by a ton of walks.

But you don’t sit Adrian Beltre ever, in any situation, if you don’t have to. Especially now.

The Rangers want him in the lineup as often as possible. They need to increase his trade value. And they need him to stay injury free until they send him away. That means, Beltre will DH a lot more. But he still needs to play enough third base to remain valuable and vital for a National League trade partner.

That has ramifications all around the field.

First, the team already has a DH, and that DH is the hottest hitter on the team. Shin-Soo Choo has been an on-base machine. He has reached safely in seventeen straight games, with an OBP of .485 in that span. For a team suffocating from offense, Choo needs to be in the lineup. Every day. Not just the two or three times a week to accommodate Beltre.

So, if Choo isn’t DHing, he shouldn’t sit. That means he plays right field. That moves Mazara to left, where Gallo has been camped out. You could say Gallo is in a deep slump. But a career .202 hitter is in a perpetual slump. This year, though, he is hitting just .150 against left handers. But there is no way the Rangers are going to sit Gallo. He is one of their few marketable players.

Gallo could shift to third, which he hates, and where Kiner-Falefa is thriving. Or more likely he returns to first, which will displace Guzman, whose glove at first has been remarkable, and who is on fire offensively, just starting to turn a huge corner, and just turning into an offensive force, hitting extra base hits almost at will. Guzman has taken his average from .191 to .240 in just ten games. He has five home runs, a triple, two doubles and twelve RBIs in that ten-game span. You can’t sit him, can you, and run the risk of stunting his development?

If Kiner-Falefa moves, where? Daniels is not going to let him displace his favorite son Rougned Odor. Especially now that Odor is finally starting to show signs of life that will validate his decision to throw so much money at him. Odor’s bases-clearing, game-deciding double the other way in Tuesday’s game saved Odor’s job. He’s not going anywhere, which is a shame. The reality is, if the Rangers are honestly intent on putting the best team on the field, Kiner-Falefa is a huge offensive and defensive improvement over Odor. But Odor is a head case. Sit him now and you’ve lost him forever. They will need him again after the Beltre trade.

Profar is a fixture until Andrus gets back, so IKF probably won’t displace Profar. He is finally starting to get regular playing time and showing what he can be: a competent backup shortstop who hits .235 with a little power and an unpredictable arm. But, again, guys like Profar and Odor have the advantage over a better player like Kiner-Falefa merely because they got in line first.

So many options, so many choices. All to get Beltre back, keep him healthy, and pretty him up for suitors.

For a team treading water at ten games below .500, it’s a musical chairs of mediocrity.

*****
TODAY’S GAME:

Mke Minor (4-3, 5.63) vs. Wade LeBlanc (0-0, 2.70)
Game time: 9:10

How the Rangers hit against LeBlanc.
How the Mariners hit against Minor.