ARLINGTON, Texas _ Adrian Beltre hit batting practice Thursday for the first time since straining an area in his right calf muscle three weeks ago.
Beltre has been on the disabled list since spring training with a strain in another area of the right calf. Before that, he strained his left calf a day before arriving in spring training.
The Rangers hope he's able to return by the end of the month. He also fielded grounders Thursday but has yet to do any running. That will be the final hurdle before determining if he's ready to return.
"The ball sounded good off his bat," Rangers manager Jeff Banister said. "Anytime Adrian's in the batters box, it sounds good, looks good."
Beltre has been unavailable for comment the past couple of days.
"He's been on the treadmill, been in the swimming pool," Banister said. "He's not ready. He'll be ready when he's ready. There's no timetable to speak of."
