Major League Baseball

Beltre looking for new grip to combat thumb injury

Published Jun. 21, 2015 1:53 p.m. ET

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Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is still on the disabled list, sidelined with a sprained left thumb.

He told Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News on Sunday that he's still having a bit of a tough time finding a way to swing the bat pain-free, as that thumb is still being quite a pest: "It’s progressing little by little. I have to find a way to swing. I’m searching for a grip that doesn’t hurt. I’m still searching. If it was uncomfortable, I’d be playing, but it’s not uncomfortable, it’s still painful.”

He's put in work attempting to find a happy medium that minimizes his thumb pain while allowing him to swing as effectively as he needs to in order to return to the Rangers.

As for that return date, manager Jeff Banister said this when asked if Beltre will be able to return by the All-Star break: “I don’t think he will be out that long. Knowing Adrian and watching him and the conversations we’ve had, I just don’t think that’s the case. He knows what his presence means in the lineup and he is determined to play the game.”

(h/t Dallas Morning News)