New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson acted quickly to deal former closer Francisco Rodriguez to the Milwaukee Brewers -- sending him away mere minutes after the All-Star Game finished. Initial reactions were that this could be the first domino to fall in a cascade of moves the Mets will make prior to the July 31 deadline.
Only the next move seemed to be in the Mets' favor. Carlos Beltran has played at a superb level this season, with a .285/.377/.503 line to go along with 13 HR and 58 RBI and a league-leading 28 doubles, and many believe he's the next in line -- and assured -- to go. However, the GM remained non-committal about the future of Beltran in speaking to reporters in a conference call Wednesday. In fact, he was adamant in his belief that Beltran is pivotal to the Mets' playoff chances this season.
Here's the bit on Beltran, transcription courtesy of Metsblog.com:
"We have had conversations with other clubs about a number of our players - [Carlos Beltran]‘s situation is well known with all teams, not surprisingly...given his situation as well as his performance, there has been a lot of interest expressed...We have not pursued that interest to any great length at this point - rather, we have been focused with our play on the field. As I've said on occasion, I'd like to see Carlos with us as we continue this run. At some point, the interest already expressed by those clubs will be reaffirmed, and we will have some conversations. I do want to make it clear the Rodriguez trade should not signal anything to anyone about Beltran..."
The GM also remained firm that he is not giving up on the 2011 season just because he dealt his closer. Regarding other trade opportunities, Alderson sees the Rodriguez one as totally separate and unconnected to any others.
"I certainly would not draw any conclusions from this transaction," Alderson said as quoted by
ESPN NY's Adam Rubin.
Earlier in the day, ESPN's Buster Olney tweeted that there were up to seven teams indicating "real interest" in Beltran. Olney also said that the "Mets are looking for big-time prospect in return for Beltran, feeling as if they have the best available hitter in (for them) a seller's market."
Olney added that he gets the sense Alderson will hold out for this type of package and wait for a team to be aggressive and give him what he desires.
The Mets' GM is in the driver's seat and I have a feeling he's the perfect guy for this type of trade. He will undoubtedly play teams off of each other to ratchet up the price as well. With so many teams in need of an impact bat, he's in the perfect situation.