As Yahoo's Tim Brown reported yesterday, one club involved in the Carlos Beltran derby should expect a Christmas gift before Sunday, as Beltran is expected to decide on his new team this week. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears the same thing, noting that Beltran is weighing a variety of two- and three-year contract offers from five different clubs. Based on various reports, including Goold's, the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, Cardinals, and one other NL team are believed to be in on the 34-year-old. Here are the rest of today's Beltran rumors, with the newest additions on top:
- The Cards view Coco Crisp as a "Plan B or another direction" if Beltran signs elsewhere, a source tells Goold.
- How quickly Beltran can return to his home in Puerto Rico is something of a factor in his decision, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney. While this would seem to favor a team like the Rays, it doesn't rule out the Jays, given the non-stop flights between Toronto and Puerto Rico (Twitter link).
- The Rays are very unlikely to outbid Beltran's other suitors, Olney adds in one last tweet.
Hitting behind fellow Puerto Ricon Jose Bautista must be attractive to Carlos Beltran.
Uhh … Jose Bautista’s from the Dominican.
That too, I guess.
Christmas will certainly be coming for some team this week. Just hope that he comes with a gift receipt for when the knees completely go.
Uhh…thx…I guess
Beltran allegedly wants to actually field next year and there’s questions about his ability to play anywhere but right at this point and that spot’s obviously locked up for you guys.
Rogers Center is astro turf isn’t it?
I’d be worried about his knees on that stuff as well.
isn’t LF easier to play than RF?
By and large, both corner outfield spots are easier than CF, but RF is considered the easier one based on lefty/righty split across the league. Essentially, 75% of hitters are right handed and the vast majority of said right handed hitters are pull hitters meaning that the vast majority of balls in play to the outfield will go left rather than right. Even then, a lot of the hits that will go further right will very often be close enough to right-center to be handled by a good defensive CF. Essentially, if you’re going to throw a bad fielder in the outfield, you want him in right field because he’ll have substantially less opportunities to flub the play than a left fielder would.
The only real exception is at Fenway, but even then a fielder has to competently handle the carom from the Monster.
usually reserved for weaker armed players as the throw to third is shorter. range wise there’s no dif. not sure how beltran fits into what the jays are doing…he’d probably see alot of time at dh which ive heard he’s not receptive to doing.
I personally think so. More balls are hit to left, but I find it extremely easier to play it than RF. There’s something about the way the ball cuts in RF that makes it difficult to read. If you’re fast enough to cover ground, CF is the easiest to read the ball from. Again, just my personal experiences.
Yay! Cardinals… come on Beltran, St. Louis can almost insure you a playoff spot if you sign.. NL mystery team Atlanta maybe? I dont know if they need an OF though
Yes, the Braves do need another OF. Hopefully either RH or switch hitting. I think Beltran makes all sorts of sense here though. Can bat him in the middle of the order around Chipper/McCann… and hopefully Heyward and Uggla get it going this year.
Beltran makes the most sense for the Braves. They have an excellent backup in Prado (though if Beltran and Chipper go down at the same time there’s problem), and he can play LF.
They need someone who can hurt lefties, that’s their biggest weakness right now.
Prado’s versatility makes him a valuable backup, but he would also be a good trade chip. Quite a few teams are looking for outfielders, and second base is a constant need. That he can also play third opens up even more trade opportunities, and he is under team control for 2013 as well.
If the Braves are the mystery team and sign him, trade Prado while he has value, instead of letting him rot on the bench. He’ll get a decent return.
Beltran to STL sounds like a good fit. They were willing to pay Pujols a ton for a long time and I know he’s the exception, not the rule, but allocating that money to Oswalt for a year and Beltran for a couple of years probably makes the Cardinals the favorites for the NL Central next year, provided they both stay healthy of course.
I agree on Beltran, but I strongly disagree on Oswalt. I’m actually growing annoyed at the constant mentions of Oswalt, even as a Cardinals fan.
People don’t seem to realize that the Cardinals have five men in the starting rotation already. Lohse isn’t going to waive his no-trade clause, and no one else is going to pick up Westbrook’s $8.5 million contract.
Whatever you thought you would sign Oswalt to, add $6 million, because that’s how much of Westbrook’s contract that the Cardinals would have to eat in a trade. I think you’ll find that he isn’t worth that amount, or if he is, the Cardinals’ offer won’t be competitive.
Very sensible answer. Hasn’t Mo already strongly stated that we will not be signing a starter this off season? I seem to remember that comment recently. I know there was some trade speculation with Lohse.. but it was mainly trying to entice him to leave more than anything. From recent Mo comments, its almost like he’s trying to make room on the rotation in case Miller makes the team in spring training, which he has stated is a possibility. At any case, I think Mo is Miller’s biggest fan… and that will be huge when it comes to decision making time.
I wouldn’t mind if that other NL team was the Braves. Stick Beltran in left. If Prado isn’t traded he can become the Braves version of the Rangers Michael Young. One day he spells Chipper at 3B, the next day in left to let Beltran sit and so on.
I don’t really get the Blue Jays interest, yes it would be nice for them to have another big bat in their line-up, but if he signed with the Jays that would mean Rasmus in centre, Bautista in right, Beltran in Left, Encarnacion at DH and Travis Snider, Eric Thamse, Ben Francisco, Rajai Davis and Mark Teahen as the 4th to 8th outfielders on the bench.
I guess I wouldn’t mind him coming to the Red Sox, but I do like our young guys in RF.
Eh, the only reason I can see to bring in Bweltran would be to give Cherington room to move Reddick for pitching.
But even if he moves Reddick we still have Kalish so I can’t see the Sox being that serious on Beltran.
I agree. I’d much rather see them spend on pitching.
kalish needs more time in the minors, ortiz should be gone next year. problem: solved
I see Hamilton on the BoSOx next year.
I don’t. The guy’s going to cost an arm and a leg and the Sox are overcrowded on lefty hitting outfielders to begin with. I see Hamilton staying in Texas.
Not if Texas signs Fielder
The only way Texas signs Fielder is if the Darvish negotiations completely fall apart. They can’t afford both and Darvish is of much more use to them than Fielder.
Because he is a pitcher, Yes.. but as an unproven Major Leaguer, No. He could turn out to be a stud or he could turn out to be Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Rogers center use to be astro turf back in the day now they have stuff called feildturf which is basically
a sand and rubber-based infill within the synthetic fibres..which makes the feild softer on the knees… they put it in like 2005ish i think
That stuff is great, I’ve played on something similar to it in a soccer tournament. It still has an effect on previous injuries, though. Sure, the quality I played on probably was nowhere near the quality of a professional baseball stadium, but I found myself with a swollen ankle afterwards due to past ankle problems.
The Jays switched back to Astroturf last off-season.
I don’t know about playing on it, but the stuff in SkyDome feels awful. I was on the field about a year ago and felt it, and remember thinking how awful it must be to play on 80-odd games a year. It’s softer than it was, but it still isn’t grass.
i think if he doesnt go to st. louis, things might not be as pleasant as once thought. while they still have a great rotation and a solid group of guys, i am unimpressed by their team. putting him in right for two or three years could be like a larry walker type deal for the cards (yes i know he was traded, but it would be similar). solidify a playoff team and make them contenders.
C- Molina
1b- Berkman
2b- shoemaker
3b- freese
ss- furcal
lf- holliday
cf- jay
rf- beltran
pick up andruw jones and theyd be GOOD.
I’m fine with Craig in right field, given his production if they don’t get Beltran. I’d like to see them upgrade at 2nd base though. Shoemaker shouldn’t be a starting second baseman.
I want no part of Andruw Jones.
Jones has a bad knee and failed his physical with the Yankees last year if I remember correctly, but it was good enough for what they were looking for. I think AJ’s days as an every day player are over.
So you want to block Craig from getting starter AB’s for 2 to 3 more years and why do so many want some player that is injury prone like Beltran so badly?
Beltran is not exactly “injury prone”.
Edit: The injury that took Beltran out for an extended period of time seems to be healed. Its funny how an extended injury outage make people think a player is injury prone.
He has logged a ton of service time during his tenure. That said, he is poised to have a bounce back year and is an upgrade to Craig or Jay. Not to mention, Beltran has a reputation that comes with him that pitchers will respect. Its not quite Pujols, but far better than Craig or Jay. His presence in a lineup will be impactful and will allow for our youngsters to platoon plenty of play time. I think its a good way to spend that money.
Yep. Agree with this. A perfect example of your first point was Holliiday this year. He had a couple pretty random injuries.
Beltran is also a threat.. that way teams wont pitch around Berkman and Holliday.. Craig is great but he may not turn out… Beltran provides insurance and if he were to get hurt craig can come in.. Or they can weed out Jay and keep both Bletran and Craig in.. either way it adds more power, depth, and will insure to put more people in the seats.. (the ones who are insanely bitter about Pujols)
who is “shoemaker”…i have only heard of Skip Schumaker
The guy has already made a lot of money, I wonder if hes not overwhelmed by any offers if he just goes to the Rays to be on a great young team and do what he can.
You don’t know Beltran too well. He’s all about the money. He doesn’t care about winning! Im glad he is not a Met anymore. He will take the highest contract offer.
I’m sure it hurts him that you’re glad he’s not a Met. I would imagine the feeling is mutual.
At one point, I had read that one WAR is worth about $4.5 million on the open market. During his 7 years as a Met, Beltran compiled 32.5 wins above replacement. That’s worth $146.25 million. His seven year contract was for only $119 million.
Are you suggesting that the Mets didn’t get a good value out of this signing? The stats say otherwise.
Actually, Lozano guy. He left Boras in November.
I’m guessing teams see him as a platoon player with a youngster taking the rest of his ABs. There is NO WAY I put him out on that field anymore than 100 games or so
as much as I would like to see the Jays add some offense, I ‘d rather see the Jays spend the big money on Prince Fielder, not Beltran.
I also think they need pitching more than they do offense.
the Jays don’t really need more outfielders
1B- Lind/Encarnacion (Fielder?)
2B- Johnson
3B- Lawrie
SS- Escobar
RF- Bautista
CF- Rasmus
LF- Thames/Davis/Snider
DH- Encarnacion/Lind/Snider/other
CA- Arencibia
I would like to see the Jays trade Snider. use him to get something back.
there are still different players available who could come in really cheap and put up decent/good enough numbers. players who certainly wouldn’t cost what it would take to get Beltran. without looking too deep, someone like.. Vladimir Guerrero, Cody Ross, Ryan Ludwick, Hideki Matsui, Luke Scott, Raul Ibanez.. guys who could play mostly DH.
So if AA doesn’t bid on Fielder, you wouldn’t want Beltran? He’s been good his entire career when he’s been healthy and he would be a great veteran presence on a young team. Trade Snider, Thames, Lind, etc. for a #2 starter and a reliever and we’re looking mighty strong.
what GM would trade a legit #2 starter and a reliever for adam lind?…snider and thames are 4th outfield types, not much trade value in them
Wow … I’m still pretty shocked that the Cardinals are still in on Beltran at this point. He just doesn’t seem like the puzzle piece Mozeliak should be wanting at this point.
Who does then? Crisp??
I’m not psyched about Crisp, either. As far as I’m concerned, the team really only needs a part-time fourth outfielder, not a guy who will make between $10M-$16M a year and still risks injury. I’d much rather see the Cards pick up a Ludwick for $1M-$3M as a backup/clubhouse guy, leave Jay out in center most of the time, and focus on building a new core out there. Beltran is not a core player, and neither is Crisp.
See Jose Reyes contract.. Beltran is a platoon player
i think you guys should make a run at a BJ Upton or someone similar.
I think Upton would look good in a Cardinal uniform, but the cost (in prospects) to get him may be too high. The Cardinals’ farm system is top heavy, at least in talent that will reach the major leagues in the next few years.
Carpenter, Cox or Taverez aren’t enough to land Upton, and Miller or Martinez would be way too much.
I may be wrong, but isn’t Upton a free agent after the 2012 season? The Cards could always go for Crisp as a stop-gap and then try and sign Upton next year. Next year’s free agent class is looking stronger than this year’s (Bourn, Ethier, Upton, etc), so maybe the Cards are trying to decide whether they want to lock someone up now (Beltran) or field a slightly weaker team this year in the hopes that we could get a good, younger player later. Weighing the “win now at all costs” versus the “we have a chance to win now with the team we have, but if we just wait we could be an absolute force in a couple years.”
Cards could always try and trade for him this year if he is a FA next year.. He may be on the block come July
Great discussion here. I think Beltran, when he was with the Astros was a key player. I think being with Boras hurt him as he could have been a franchise player for KC or HOU. I would obviously like to see his bat in the Cards lineup – we need a bat to go along with what Freese is capable of doing and what Holliday does. I am not looking forward to his defese.
@Obsessions, is right, the Cardinals are willing to spend. the FO is very shrewd and will nto spend for spendings sake.
If it’s between the Blue Jays and the Rays, three things could be a factor. The turf in Tampa is much softer on the knees than Toronto, Tampa is still closer to the DR than Toronto, and third, I think the difference in the dollar exchange between the US and Canada, along with no income tax in Florida could equal out 2-3 million dollars in offer between the two teams.
I meant Puerto Rico.
Isn’t the turf now exactly the same since they both switched back to Astro Turf last season (Rays) and the season before (Jays)?
MLB contracts are paid out in USD. Always.
Tampa is perfect for you, Beltran. You know it to be true. Players seem to find a way to turn their careers around here, Pena? Benoit? Soriano? Balfour? Kotchman? Farnsworth? Peralta? Yeah, I could continue but that should do it. Sign here for 2 years and you will get yourself another deal, come on….I was gonna call you “Los” but that name is meant for Pena.
i think he should DEFINITELY sign here! i mean honestly all we need to win it all is a good bat or two. with beltran, he has a very legitimate shot of winning a ring with us down here. all we need is that bat and we are in a great position to win it all. not to mention how close his native puerto rico is! he could be making weekly flights out on the off days if he wanted. sure it might be less money considering our financial situation.. but like i said, with him, we have a legitimate shot at winning it all. isnt that what what every player would want to do in their careers? i just hope he realizes how close we are, and how he could put us exactly where we need to be. c’mon $tu open your pockets just a little. i mean you guys spent 5mill on DAMON. 5mill is a lot for a guy like him to us. GO RAYS!
Totally agree, we could definitely use him! Go Rays!
I’m always confused as hell by the “athletes” who say things like “closer to home” and even more bizarrely “quickly return to home” when the man is a multimillionaire who can charter a plane and be home just as fast in any airport in the entire country.
I will literally be spending more etxra time on the subway every day for my job commute if I get a job 2 subway stops away from where I am now than Carlos Beltran will spend in the air going to Puerto Rico 3 times a year from even Seattle.
I mean we’re talking multimillionaires who can charter a plane in 5 minutes. Ugh.
question for jays fans. its not connected to this thread at all i’m just interested in the response.
if you had to deal lawrie and d’arnaud for felix hernandez, would you pull the trigger?
Forget the trade, I’m not a fan of his contract. Fantastic pitcher, very underrated, but I’m not a fan of giving pitchers 20 mil per season.
If he is signed to a longer and more team frindly deal…maybe we have that trade conversation…
I would never deal Lawrie
nope, not today, not tomorrow
ok interesting, everyone says no.
i figured this was fair value assuming that seattle would go for quality over quantity in return for hernandez. i would struggle with this one as jays gm. we have a capable young catcher already so i wouldnt feel so bad about losing d’arnaud despite him being our best prospect and one of the best in the league, but losing lawrie creates a gaping hole at 3B and he’s arguably more valuable to the jays (as a canadian) than any other team.but hernandez is a stud and controllable through 2014 at a pretty good rate for someone of his quality (3 yrs, $49mill).i feel like in a vacuum a gm would make this deal, but it would take a ton of guts if you’re the blue jays gm.
yes?
Anything from TX on Beltran? Their only offensive weekness is LF(and keeping their power bats on the field). Would be nice for Beltran’s knees to get a day or two a week at DH down the stretch…
I’d love for Beltran to be a Ray, but I think their limit is like $8-$10MM/year. We’ll see, though!