Are The Rays A Serious Contender To Land Carlos Beltran?
Carlos Beltran December 21st. 2011, 10:25am
The Rays are said to be one of at least five teams that are bidding on free agent outfielder Carlos Beltran. And Beltran’s decision could come this week. According to Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports, Beltran is expected to make a decision this week as he is weighing several 2- and 3-year offers.
Working in the Rays favor is Beltran’s desire to be close to his home in Puerto Rico. However, Buster Olney says that is not the biggest factor, and that the Rays will “almost certainly” be outbid by the other teams.
Players always want to be close to home. But when it comes down to it, if you are not playing in your home town, it is still a plane ride away no matter where you are playing.
And as Brown notes, Beltran and his surgically repaired knee are going to prefer a team that plays on grass.
In other words, if you are hoping for six-time All-Star under your Festivus pole, prepare to be disappointed.
Yeah, Beltran would be great as a DH here, but I wouldn’t subject him to the field more than once a week, his knees would disintegrate.
He’s not taking a discount though, so I think this is all moot anyway.
Carlos Beltran would be perfect for us. I know there are negative things with him playing here too, but a guy who will definitely have an OPS of around . 800 would be a welcomed addition to the lineup! He is a professional hitter, and could be a great 4th outfielder for us! Make it happen Friedman!
come on “New Los”, you made enough money from those….less than genius Mets, now play closer to home for a little less money! Please!
Lets look at some facts, now.
Cards have been after Crisp lately and have Craig for RF.
Jays have Bautista in RF, Snider and Thames fighting it out in LF and they seem to love E5 there for DH.
Red Sox….dude, you want that pressure back?
Tampa, where you can give Joyce or any of the OF’ers really a day off their feet and mostly DH to protect those knees is the best fit. Also, how many careers have been turned around here?
We are perfect for you, Beltran, you know it to be true.
Beltran and the Rays make a lot of sense…I absolutely hope this works out! We’re already a contender, and he’d put us on top IMO.
Cork- I’m sure you’re breaking down the Baseball America Top 10 prospects list right now…when can we see your take on it?
Its fun to pretend. We can all agree on that. E.G. Pretending that the Rays will actually sign Beltran. Their bid is likely 2 year $18-20 range which is not going to fly. If we sign Beltran I will be more than shocked.
Beltran is trying to decide between a city he likes or money. If he choses the city, I love our offense. However, keep him at DH, he doesn’t have much left in the knee department.
The great thing about the Rays is that they love being creative with their free agent deals. Remember Percival? They gave him less money, but bought him a rare restored car because he collected them. They find out you like something and then they’ll make sure they capitalize on that in the contact. So, if Beltran wants to be able to fly to Puerto Rico, they may let him do so for free for a certain amount of times. We may offer less money, but they’ll make it up to him in other ways. Besides, he can be the difference maker between us just making the playoffs, and winning a world series!
If they can swing it it would be nice to have him in the middle of the lineup.As long as Derek Shelton keeps his distance.
Probably not gonna happen per MLBTradeRumors.com:
•The Cardinals view Beltran as the best, most cost-efficient option, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com. The Cardinals are believed to have offered a two-year deal worth at least $8MM per season at one point, Heyman writes.
•Beltran is down to the Cardinals, Indians and Blue Jays, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports. Miller names the same three teams and says the Beltran talks appear to be coming to a head. (Twitter link).
So frustrating. I look at that 2 years @ 8 mil per and the Rays still can’t match it? What is Friedman waiting for only Kotchman and Damon to be left so he can bring them back and act like he saved the off season?
I am sure he sees “value” somewhere else. Plus he gave Pat The Bat $8mil a year and look how THAT turned out! Probably scared the little guy. $8mil for Beltran? 2 years? Give him 3 and personal jet access to SJU ex Albert Whitted and call it a day! Deal.
I shouldn’t be so hard on him, but holy CRAP make a move would you!! Guys are getting gobbled up and we are just sitting there with more freaking pitching than we know what to do with and holes galore in key positions. I just read we are one of 5 teams in the running for Seth Smith in Colorado. An outfielder? Seriously? Maybe we need a really good 2B and 3B for good measure as well!
Hey, look, another rumor that wont happen.
We want Andrew Bailey. Don’t hold your breath, guys.