Yankees outfielder Carlos Beltran can block trades to 15 clubs under the terms of his limited no-trade clause, according to ESPN.com’s Buster Olney, who explores the possibility of a deal involving the veteran. Among the teams to which Beltran could be dealt without consent are the Indians, Nationals, Royals, Cardinals, Rays, Tigers, and Dodgers, per the report.
Of course, it’s far from clear whether New York will end up entertaining such a move. The club has moved back to within striking distance in the AL East already, and there’s plenty of time left before the deadline.
Parting with Beltran wouldn’t necessarily mean abandoning hope for the present season, Olney suggests. Shipping him out would free up opportunities for highly-regarded young players such as Aaron Hicks and Aaron Judge. They could be expected to provide value now while helping prepare for bigger roles in 2017 and beyond.
It’s fair to wonder just how much trade value Beltran would carry. On the one hand, he recently turned 39 and is a subpar outfielder (especially if one credits Defensive Runs Saved). On the other, he’s a highly respected veteran who is currently running out a productive .274/.299/.522 batting line, largely matching his overall production levels from last season (about 20% above league average).
Salary will certainly play a role, too, as Beltran is owed a healthy $15MM this season before reaching free agency at year’s end. Whether or not the market is receptive to that overall package remains to be seen, but presumably the Yankees won’t make a move unless they receive some kind of interesting return (barring a full-blown collapse in the next two months). That’s especially true given the uncertainty of Hicks and Judge as well as the fact that aging sluggers Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez come with their own blend of health, age, and performance questions.
Technically, he is owed less than $15M now that 2 months of the season has passed.
Of course, but he’s owed $15MM in total for the season, which is what I wrote.
That applies to all players who are or could be traded, so it makes sense just to talk in annual terms. I’d run the numbers if he was being dealt right now or something, but we don’t know how much cash he’ll have left to go if and when rumors pick up, because we don’t know if and when that will be.
Had Beltran and the Yankees not ruled out the possibility of him playing more than the few innings that he played at 1B in 2014, he could have been an interesting option for the Mets.
I know the authors of these articles can’t watch every inning of every mlb game and have to use league average numbers, blah, blah, blah, but Beltran has been more than just productive. He was hot the first few weeks of the season, cooled off for a couple but has been absolutely on fire, again, the past two weeks. The guy squares up the ball as much as anyone on the Yankees. His defense is passable in the OF, too. Obviously nothing great, but he catches everything hit near him. Would love to see him dealt for a top prospect at the deadline. In fact, I’d like to see them also trade McCann, Miller, Chapman and any other older veteran that can bring back good, young players. Yanks need to cut weight and get younger. This team is not competing for a WS title this year.
They seem like they are a few albatross contracts away from being the Angels.
What are you talking about? Just another Yankee hater. How do you compare the Yankees to the Angels crap team and farm system? In one year the Yankees will be the Yankees again. It’ll be over ten years before you ever see the Angels win again. Learn what you’re talking about before you say something.
Luckily their bloated contracts are expiring in the next couple of years. Losing Beltran, Rodriguez, CC, Tex and Chapman will free up approximately $93 million by the end of 2017. That’s a lot of dough. I believe they were going to make a play for Strasburg but that door has closed. I don’t see them doing much this winter and trying to get below the luxury tax threshold. After 2017, they will spend, again.
These things tend to smooth out over time, so I try not to pay too much heed to streaks — especially for players with established track records and career trajectories. His current overall production level is as much as can be reasonably hoped for at his age. Don’t see him returning a top prospect unless he somehow stays “on fire” through July and there’s no supply on the market.
no one is going to give up a “top” prospect for Beltran. The problem for the Yanks over the last ten years has been their farm system stopped producing good players. In the mid 90’s, when they started on that great run, they had Jeter, Soriano, BernieWilliams, Pettitte, Riviera, Cano, Posada all come up thru the system and the Yanks then added the FA’s to fill in the holes like Giambi, Justice, O’Neill, Clemens to put them over the top.
I understand, but Stewart and LaRussa traded 3 decent players/prospects for a mediocre pitcher. There is always someone desperate enough to make a risky trade. I can hope, any way.
Those gms are all out of prospects.
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For a controllable, young pitcher. But hey, if an Andrew Miller rental can get Eduardo Rodriguez, then there’s at least some hope.
Agree no one is giving a top prospect for him he is too old and expensive
The Yankees need to start infusing youth into their roster…it’s clear that they have spent a lot of money on players that aren’t productive anymore and although they don’t have an incredibly talented farm system, there are some young players that should get some time in the bigs, especially if they fall further out of the playoff race…I’d say come July they should start selling off veterans and perhaps even cutting A-Rod and Tex if they can’t find anyone willing to take them
Yeah. That’ll happen.
Cutting Tex will never happen. He will be given a qualifying offer so they can get the extra pick when he signs somewhere else.
who is going to sign him if he has a qo attached?
He’s old, bad, and limited.
Would he even decline a qo if they gave it to him?
If he was offered a qualifying offer he would take it. Greg Bird would be playing and Ackley would be gone if Bird wasn’t out for the year.
I could see the Cubs having some interest, but the return will be very small.
His bats just okay and his defensive is below average,
The White Sox just came out saying they needed a lefty bat. AL team (DH) and Beltran can still play the field if needed. Would help New Yorks’ logjam at DH since Arod will be activated soon. I think its just too early for trades, but it would be a good fit I think.
Would give Beltran another fresh start. I know he is looking to play another 10 years, but you make a good point.
I think the Yankees should trade him for some young arms or another outfielder. They could really use some younger guys too.