It would seem that the Mets fire sale could be on after they traded closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers after the All-Star Game.
The question now is who could be on their way out next in Queens?
Many writers and analysts out there say it could be outfielder Carlos Beltran who is in the final year of his contract with the Mets.
Within the past week we’ve heard that San Francisco and Boston could be big potential suitors to land Beltran. Beltran seemed to indicate himself that he would approve a trade to Boston while San Francisco is rumored to include pitching prospect Zach Wheeler in any deal for Beltran.
Buster Olney of ESPN however believes that a wild card team in all of this speculation could be the Detroit Tigers. Olney believes that the need for a corner outfielder and the fact that both Jim Leyland and Dave Dombrowski are not under contract for next year could spurn the Tigers into making a deal.
One sticking point however that Olney points out is that any team looking to acquire Beltran is probably going to have to eat a good portion of the $6 million dollars remaining on his salary for this season.
With the money situation at hand I would feel more comfortable with the Tigers seeking out Beltran considering it would be less likely that they would have to give up a top of the line prospect in order to acquire him. However, it also seems like a long shot that Tigers owner Mike Ilitch will be willing to write a check in order to satisfy the demands of the Mets.
Even though Beltran has been an up and down player while with the Mets he certainly would provide help on both sides of the ball.
Source: ESPN.com