It's pretty much a foregone conclusion that come July 31, the New York Mets will likely look much different than they do now. One of their trade chips figures to be right fielder Carlos Beltran.
His transition from center field to right field has been flawless, and his hitting this year has been much better than expected as well. With a .282 batting average, nine home runs and 35 runs batted in on the year, Beltran is on pace for 23 HR and 90 RBI on the season. His line of .282/.366/.512 is also very impressive, thus he will undoubtedly be someone a playoff-caliber team will seek.
The Mets also plan to sweeten the pot, as Sports Illustrated's Jon Heyman tweeted that, "Once selling begins, mets said willing to eat some of beltran's $18.5M salary if they can get good prospect(s) for him."
Michael Baron of Metsblog.com also notes that the Mets cannot offer Beltran arbitration at the end of the year, meaning they cannot be given a draft pick if they can't sign him. Hence, the reason Sandy Alderson would be willing to pay some of Beltran's contract.
It's pretty obvious that the Mets' front office realizes the importance of infusing the minor league system with some higher-end young talent, but it remains to be seen what type of prospects teams will be offering up for a 34-year-old with a chronic knee problem.