File this under “interesting, but I’d be surprised if it went anywhere,” but Buster Olney says the Mets and Yankees have discussed Carlos Beltran.
The extent to which anything could come of this, Olney notes, is the extent to which the Mets are interested in a pure salary dump. Beltran would be really useful if they could get him, but The Yankees aren’t necessarily desperate for offense. It might be different for a starter, of course, but it’s hard to fathom them getting rid of a useful young player for such a deal.
At the same time, given that Beltran represents the best bat, and maybe the only truly useful bat, currently on the market, they’d be wise to see if they can’t get both salary relief and a useful return for Beltran before considering talking either one or the other. There are a ton of teams, including the Giants, Tigers, Braves and Phillies who all may be willing to do better.
If it gets late and there’s no takers, sure, call the Yankees and see what they’d offer. But not now.
UPDATE: Or maybe not ever. The Yankees have reportedly ruled out Carlos Beltran.