Astros pursuing Royals' Beltran

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/2643540
Astros pursuing Royals' Beltran
By BRIAN McTAGGART
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
RESOURCES
THE PROPOSED TRADE: The Astros have explored the possibility of acquiring Carlos Beltran from the Royals and shipping closer Octavio Dotel to the Oakland A's, who would send prospects to Kansas City.


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CARLOS BELTRAN
Age: 27
Date of birth: April 24, 1977
Place of Birth: Manati, Puerto Rico
Hometown: Manati, Puerto Rico
HT: 6-1 WT: 190
Bats/Throws: S/R
Salary: $9,000,000
MLB Seasons: 6
Drafted by Kansas City in 1995 (2nd round). Full stats
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OCTAVIO DOTEL
Age: 30
Date of birth: November 25, 1973
Place of Birth: Santo Domingo, Dom. Rep.
HT: 6-0 WT: 210
Bats/Throws: R/R
Salary: $2,800,000
MLB Seasons: 5
Signed by NY Mets in 1993. Acquired in a trade with NY Mets in 1999. Full stats
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The Astros are one of a handful of teams in the running to obtain Kansas City Royals center fielder Carlos Beltran through a three-team trade, sources have said.


According to sources, the Astros have explored the possibility of acquiring Beltran from the Royals and shipping closer Octavio Dotel to the Oakland A's, who would send prospects to Kansas City.


Beltran, 27, is a switch hitter who is batting .280 with 14 home runs and 50 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He hit .307 last year with 26 home runs and 100 RBIs and was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1999.


"I'm not going to comment on specific trade discussions," Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker said. "There are a lot of conversations going on these days."


The Royals are in last place in the American League Central at 27-40 and are prepared clean house. They sent reliever Jason Grimsley to the Orioles for minor league pitcher Denny Bautista on Monday.


Oakland general manager Billy Beane has expressed interest in bolstering his bullpen before the July 31 trading deadline. The A's have a bevy of top prospects in the minor leagues.

max...do you realize that the astros have the 3rd best record of any majopr baseball team in Texas...behind the Rangers and The Longhorns...LOL

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by CedarCreaker:
max...do you realize that the astros have the 3rd best record of any majopr baseball team in Texas...behind the Rangers and The Longhorns...LOL<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
Your funny....

I predict Yankees get him. B williams for Beltran, Yanks pay both salaries !

everyone is looking at him

June 24, 2004, 2:19AM

Astros pursue Beltran
Three-way deal with Royals, A's falls through
By BRIAN McTAGGART
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
RESOURCES


The Astros nearly were part of a blockbuster three-team deal Tuesday night that would have brought Kansas City Royals center fielder Carlos Beltran to Houston and sent closer Octavio Dotel to the Oakland Athletics. A minor-leaguer, believed to be catcher John Buck, also was part of the deal. The trade fell apart when Kansas City and Oakland couldn't agree on their portion of the deal. But numerous team sources confirmed Wednesday that the Astros, along with a handful of other clubs, are still pursuing Beltran.

The deal apparently fell through because A's general manager Billy Beane was concerned about paying Dotel's salary.

Beltran, a switch-hitter, is considered one of the top players available on this summer's trading block. He's a free agent at the end of this season, and the last-place Royals are desperately trying to trade him for prospects. The Boston Red Sox also covet Beltran.

Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker wouldn't confirm or deny the pursuit of Beltran, who would give the Astros another dangerous bat in addition to upgrading their shaky outfield defense.

"Everybody knows we've got a lot invested in this club this year in particular and conversations usually lead nowhere, but you can't get to first base unless you get to the plate," Hunsicker said.

If the Astros are able to work out a deal for Beltran, they likely wouldn't be able to afford to keep him following this season. But the club believes this year presents its best chance to win a championship and would be willing to bring in Beltran in the short term. He's due to make $9 million in 2004.

Beane has expressed interest in bolstering his bullpen before the July 31 trading deadline. The A's have a bevy of top prospects in the minor leagues but are in need of a closer.

Dotel is in his first full season as a closer and has converted 14 of 17 save opportunities. Brad Lidge, currently the Astros' setup man, would inherit the role as closer if Dotel is dealt.

"I came here in a trade from the Mets, and the one thing I can say is I might leave here in a trade, too," Dotel said. "I woke up today, and my agent called me and said he heard something, but nothing for sure. They're doing that because they want to make this team better."

Beltran, 27, is batting .279 with 14 home runs, 50 RBIs and 14 stolen bases. He hit .307 last year with 26 home runs and 100 RBIs and was the AL Rookie of the Year in 1999.

"He's not just my best player; he's one of the best in baseball," said Royals manager Tony Peña. "To me, he hasn't reached his full potential."

Beltran's arrival in Houston would force the Astros to move Craig Biggio from center field. Biggio likely would either shift to left field (with Lance Berkman moving to right) or back to second base, where he played for 11 seasons.

"I can't worry about it," Biggio said. "Whatever team (Beltran) is going to go to, he's going to help. I've moved around to a bunch of different positions already because they told me to do it. We'll see what happens."

It's unlikely the Astros would ask Jeff Kent to move to third, considering he hasn't played there since 1996. Kent, who sat out his second consecutive game Wednesday with a jammed finger, shrugged off any effects a possible trade would have on him.

"I don't buy into much of that," he said. "If we add players, we add players. We're all in here to do what it takes."

Hunsicker can't give up on this one
By RICHARD JUSTICE
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
RICHARD JUSTICE

Carlos Beltran is the one available guy who might mean the difference between finishing first and third. He would elevate the Astros in so many areas it would be hard to count them all.

About all that separates him from Jim Thome, Vladimir Guerrero and other impact hitters is that he's available, and they're not.

That's why the Astros must continue to pursue a deal for Beltran. They might not win with him, but with each passing day, it becomes clearer they can't win without doing something big.

They almost did.

The Astros were within an eyelash of landing him Tuesday night in a three-team trade that would have sent closer Octavio Dotel and minor-league catcher John Buck to the Kansas City Royals for Beltran.

The Royals then would have sent Dotel to the Oakland A's for prospects.

Before the Astros could even celebrate, before they could even begin to assess Beltran's impact on their team, they learned the A's had backed out.


Not giving up on Beltran
The Royals then began shopping Beltran all over again, and industry sources said the Boston Red Sox might have positioned themselves to acquire him.


Astros owner Drayton McLane urged his people to go back to the Royals and see if the deal could be salvaged.

Regardless of whether the Astros actually land Beltran, that telephone call said plenty about how McLane feels about this season.

He wants to win so badly in 2004 that he's willing to sacrifice 2005 and 2006.

McLane has seen two underdog teams, Anaheim and Florida, win the last two World Series. He also believes that with no guarantees Roger Clemens will return in 2005, his team has a special opportunity to win now.

So he decided to go for it.


No untouchables on farm
General manager Gerry Hunsicker essentially told the Royals to name their price.


Had the Royals asked for top prospects Chris Burke and Buck, they probably could have gotten them.

That's how convinced the Astros are that Beltran would be a perfect fit. They envision a lineup that has, say, Craig Biggio and Lance Berkman in front of Beltran and Jeff Kent and Jeff Bagwell behind him.

Beltran could make all of them better. He might be the guy who could awaken a sleeping offense.

The Astros would have made that trade, even though their chances of re-signing Beltran this winter would be slim. His agent, Scott Boras, wants a four- or five-year deal worth $15 million or more per season.

Perhaps only the Yankees can pay that kind of money, so you can guess where Beltran is likely to be playing next season.

Maybe the price would have been too high. Maybe the trade wouldn't have been enough, just as the Randy Johnson deal in 1998 wasn't enough.

Maybe Dotel would have developed into one of the game's great closers, and maybe Buck would have been a first-rate catcher for the next decade.

The Astros do not care about any of that. After all these years, after all the close calls and the late collapses, they wanted to take a shot.

They rightfully see Beltran as one of those rare guys whose presence elevates those around him.

He covers so much ground in center that the corner outfielders suddenly would look better. He also can make a difference with his speed and throwing arm.

When is the last time you said that about anyone wearing an Astros uniform?

In the end, McLane and Hunsicker had just one reservation, and it had nothing to do with paying a high price for renting Beltran for the rest of the year.

Their concerns were about Craig Biggio.

Beltran's arrival probably would mean an outfield shuffle, with Biggio moving from center to left and Berkman from left to right.

The brain trust felt badly about asking Biggio to move again but knew he would have done whatever they asked. He has played so well this season that picking up his 2005 option already seems like a foregone conclusion.

They never had that conversation.

Maybe the trade won't work out and Beltran will finish this season someplace else. Maybe the Astros will not get the spark they need.

Regardless of what happens, the Astros handled all of this perfectly.

The easy thing would have been to be cautious and to put the top prospects off limits.

Instead, McLane sees this season as an opportunity. To him, 2005 might as well be a decade from now.