A Possible Beltran Trade

Will the Phils hire this gun?

It’s that time of year in baseball where trade rumors fly in every direction, and the big Phillie rumor swirling over the past 24 hours is that the team is “aggressively” pursuing Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran.

I have somewhat conflicting feelings about acquiring Beltran, but if the deal were to go down, I’m sure I’d be on board pretty quickly.  There’s no doubt that Beltran is still a very productive hitter (from both sides of the plate) and even though he’s showing his age, he still has plus-speed and is a capable defender in right field.

Strictly from the standpoint of, “What should the Phillies do to win a World Series this year?”, a trade for Beltran is maybe the best move they could possibly make.  He’s punished left-handed pitching throughout his career.  In my opinion, it would make sense to slot him right into the 3-hole in the order, making a line-up that would look something like this:

1. Rollins
2. Utley
3. Beltran
4. Howard
5. Victorino
6. Ibanez/Brown
7. Polanco
8. Ruiz

That line-up has all three lefty bats split up, with two guys (Beltran and Victorino) that hit lefties really well doing the splitting.  And as much as we might not like to admit it, Utley’s downward trend in power numbers means he’s probably more suited to hit 2nd then 3rd these days.

With the Red Sox considered to be the other team that is most aggressively pursuing Beltran, it’s not hard to imagine this bidding war being the deciding factor in the Fall Classic in a few months.  The Sox and Phils could probably be considered the co-favorites right now, so it’s safe to say that if either adds Beltran they would be considered the odds-on favorite.

All that being said, I’m not totally on-board.  Strictly from a fan standpoint (i.e. not very logical), I don’t like the idea of “renting” players for a few months.  Considering Beltran’s age, it seems unlikely that the Phils would be interested in re-signing him after the season.  They already have enough money committed to players in their 30’s going forward.

As much as I want another championship, you have to wonder at what point bringing in hired guns cheapens the feeling.  I know the cliche is that we’re all just rooting for laundry, and there’s certainly a ton of truth in that.  But that cliche overlooks the fact that when you watch a group of players play together every night, year after year, in said laundry, you obviously develop an affection for the players wearing that laundry.  Even if they don’t totally care which team they’re playing for or which fans are rooting for them, that doesn’t mean we can’t feel a legitimate connection to them and an added appreciation when they succeed.

It doesn’t help matters that this potential hired gun is being hired from an arch-rival.  I still remember fondly Beltran’s last postseason at-bat, mostly because it was the Mets’ last postseason at-bat: an Adam Wainwright curveball that he watched go by to end the 2006 NLCS.  I was in a bar in New York City and my cheer went up just as the rest of the bar went silent.  It was the premature end of the road for this still mostly-intact Mets nucleus.

Now that same player could join the Phillies nucleus that we’ve watched come together for the past five years.  Sure, Halladay, Lee, and Oswalt are all guys that established themselves elsewhere before the newfound deep pockets of the Phillies gave them the chance to bring them aboard.  But Halladay and Lee are both guys that really wanted to be here and are signed for the long-term.  We may not have grown them on our farm, but their both very much Phillies at this point.  The same goes for Ibanez and Polanco, neither of whom was here for the ’08 title.

But Beltran?  Do we really want to win the World Series with him leading the way offensively, possibly hitting right in the heart of the order?  Well, the answer to that is YES.  We want the title, even if Beltran plays a key role.  But wouldn’t it be better to win it without him?  And wouldn’t it possibly be even better to keep a prized prospect like Jared Cosart or Jonathan Singleton so we can watch them grow up in years to come, like we have with Hamels and Utley?

I don’t have any conclusive stance here.  I just think this is a larger issue that we Phillie fans need to face as we join the ranks of the spoiled elites, like Yankees and Red Sox fans.  In the end, swinging a deal for Beltran is probably the right move, and I won’t be complaining a bit if and when he’s riding on one of the floats down Broad Street.