MLB Trade Rumors: Could Carlos Beltran Land in Philadelphia?

Carlos Beltran is rumored to be on the move, and the Philadelphia Phillies are in the running to land the outfielder, according to Ken Rosenthal.

If and only if the New York Mets are willing to eat a lot of his salary (which Rosenthal says they are), I would like to see Beltran in the Philadelphia lineup.

I know that Phillies fans by nature have to dislike the Mets, and Beltran has been there a long time, but he still could be a good fit for the Phillies.

First of all, he is a switch hitter, which would give the Phillies that greatly desired right-handed bat.

The only liability in this situation is that Beltran is batting only .232 against left-handers. He does have eight of his 14 home runs against them, though, so he would add a powerful bat to the heart of the lineup.

Beltran has played a lot of right field this season.

Would this mean trouble for Domonic Brown?

I am going to say that it partially would.

However, I also see him playing in left field much more often. I think that Beltran would play the equivalent of a starting role, but I think that he might pick up some games in both right and left field.

According to FanGraphs, Beltran is the ninth most valuable outfielder in baseball this season in terms of Wins above Replacement. He has driven in 59 runs, so he would be a productive right-handed bat protecting Ryan Howard in the lineup.

The Mets want prospects, so the possibility of this deal getting done really depends on how high that price tag gets and how aggressively the Phillies are also pursuing bullpen help.

I think that Beltran might be a good fit for the lineup, but there are some questions about his acquisition.