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Texas Rangers, Adrian Beltre still working on contract extension

Adrian Beltre is still waiting on an offer.

Tom Pennington/Getty Images

The Texas Rangers have yet to offer Adrian Beltre that contract extension he has reportedly been looking for.

According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, Beltre and the Rangers have been in preliminary contract extension discussions since spring training. However, Beltre and his agent -- Scott Boras -- have been waiting on an offer that was promised to them 'about two weeks ago.'

Beltre said on Sunday that he's 'still got nothing to say 'yes' or 'no' to,' which doesn't necessarily preclude that negotiations aren't on-going, but just that an official offer hasn't been given.

The 36-year old third baseman -- who will turn 37 this Thursday -- is entering the last season of a six-year deal. Beltre will earn $16 million this season.

Over the previous five seasons, Beltre has earned $80 million. According to FanGraphs $/WAR estimations, Beltre has provided the Rangers with a surplus of $121.3 million -- over 150 percent.

Beltre has expressed interest in playing into his forties. According to reports during spring training, Beltre is looking for a three-year deal worth an average annual value of $19 million. While that's a lot of money to commit to a third baseman in his late thirties, Beltre has shown very little in the way of declining.

Last season was his worst at the plate since 2008, however, he was still eight percent better than the league average according to wRC+. Furthermore, his defense has yet to falter at all, actually posting the best defensive metrics of any qualified third baseman last year in over 1200 innings at the hot corner.

Whether Beltre actually gets the $57 million contract he's looking for is still somewhat up in the air. If he hits the open market at the conclusion of this season, he would be a big target at third base with Justin Turner and Martin Prado other viable candidates. It seems very feasible that Beltre could get a three-year deal worth upwards of $45 million elsewhere.

Time will tell if it's with the Rangers or not, though stalling into the season can sometimes be a troubling negotiating tactic. With the 22-year old upper-tier prospect Joey Gallo waiting for his chance to play third base in the big leagues, perhaps this has given Rangers general manager Jon Daniels some pause.