MLB Trade Rumors: Which Teams Are Leading the Carlos Beltran Sweepstakes?

The Carlos Beltran sweepstakes continues to get more interesting as the July 31 trade deadline nears. A couple of weeks ago, more than half-dozen teams inquired about the New York Mets outfielder, and now some front-runners have emerged. 

According to Jon Heyman of Sports Illustrated, the San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves are the Major League Baseball clubs leading the Beltran sweepstakes. Heyman also mentions that the Milwaukee Brewers are involved as well. 

Which of these teams needs Beltran more? And which team has the best shot at landing the Mets outfielder? 

The Brewers are a long shot here, but I wouldn't be surprised if they sneak in late to grab Beltran. Milwaukee would be better served to acquire pitching at the deadline, but they may feel that by adding Beltran they will just out hit everyone else. 

The Phillies are the best team in baseball and won't be affected that much if they don't land Beltran. They need help in right field because the platoon of Domonic Brown and Ben Francisco hasn't been producing very well for Philadelphia.

Adding Beltran would strengthen the Phillies offense and make all teams fear them even more heading into the postseason.

The Atlanta Braves have the best shot at landing Beltran, but it's the San Francisco Giants who desperately need the power hitter.

Both clubs have excellent pitching, which will please Beltran if he does go to either team. However, the Giants rank 26th in hitting, and if they expect to defend their World Series title then they need to make a deal for Beltran now. 

The Mets really want some of the Braves top pitching prospects, which is why Atlanta has the best chance of landing Beltran. Guys like Julio Teheran, Mike Minor, Brandon Beachy, Arodys Vizcaino and Randall Delgado will all soon be big-time pitchers, and the Mets want to get their hands on some of them. 

The Braves are hesitant to part ways with any of those prospects, which is why we haven't seen a deal happen yet. Not to mention Atlanta doesn't really want to trade top prospects to a division rival.

In the end, Beltran is headed to either Atlanta, Philadelphia or San Francisco. Because the Giants are super desperate, I believe we'll see Beltran headed out west pretty soon.