Rangers' Adrian Beltre 5 Hits Shy of 2,500 for His Career

Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre is just five hits away from reaching 2,500 on his career, according to MLB.com. Once the required base knock occurs, he'll become the 96th player ever to achieve the mark.

The only active players ahead of Beltre on the all-time hits list are Derek Jeter (3,383), Alex Rodriguez (2,939) and Ichiro Suzuki (2,781), who all currently reside with the New York Yankees. Beltre has been more productive than each one in 2014, as his 69 total hits top Jeter (67), Ichiro (39) and the suspended Rodriguez's zero.

Beltre continues to provide the Rangers with a steady bat during his age-35 season, slashing .308/.354/.482 with eight home runs and 35 RBI over 224 at-bats. The line is supported greatly by a scorching-hot month of June, which includes a 21-for-58 performance at the plate and 15 RBI in 16 contests.

The Dominican native has averaged 173 hits per 162 games during his career, according to Baseball-Reference.com, meaning he requires roughly three more full seasons at this pace to reach the heralded 3,000-hit club. Signed with the Rangers through the 2016 campaign, Beltre could be flirting with this milestone by the time he's ready to hit free agency.

Beltre logged 194 and 199 hits in 2012 and 2013, respectively, so if he can muster a few more years of a similar caliber before retirement, 3,000 hits has the potential to arrive sooner than expected.