Carlos Beltran, San Francisco Giant?

So it looks like the San Francisco Giants have won the Carlos Beltran sweepstakes that is of course if they can convince him to wave his no trade clause. The deal is done, and the New York Mets (to their credit) stuck to their guns and got one of the best prospects out there. Of course I seriously doubt that the Giants would have pulled the trigger on this one had they not had some assurance that Beltran would join them. With that said, let us take a look at how this deal works:

•The San Francisco Giants are set to get Carlos Beltran to help fix their offensive woes, and around four million dollars in cash
•The New York Mets are getting pitching prospect Zack Wheeler

This is a risky move for the Giants, but one that probably had to get done. The Giants have one of the worst offenses in baseball, even though they will have to sit one of their more productive batters (to make room for Beltran in the everyday lineup), but maybe another move is in the works here. Beltran is owned 6.5 million for the rest of this year and that is mostly offset by the four million dollar payment. The risk is Beltran will become a free agent at season’s end.

So the Giants gave up a top five prospect (in all of baseball that is) for a rental player. This one may come back to haunt them if Beltran does not fix the Giants offense or if he leaves once the 2011 season is concluded. Granted Wheeler has been playing in high A ball this year, but he looks like the real deal. For a rebuilding Mets team he is exactly the kind of return they needed for the future.

Related Links:

•New York Mets news and notes
•Joshua Lobdell.com