The New York Yankees may look into adding another veteran outfielder this offseason to complement their growing fleet. The club and current Cardinals right fielder Carlos Beltran, who is a free agent at the end of the season, are believed to have a mutual interest in each other, sources tell Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News.
Yankees rumors: New York, Carlos Beltran have mutual interest
The current Cards right fielder is open to wearing pinstripes next season. The Bombers may give him a look.
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More Yanks: What About Beltran?
Beltran, 36, made a go at signing with the Yankees the last two times he hit the open market -- in 2005 and 2011 -- but the team spurned his advances on both occasions. This winter, though, the Bombers could be on the lookout for a new right fielder.
Assuming that Curtis Granderson goes elsewhere this winter, the club still has a wealth of aging outfielders -- Vernon Wells, Ichiro Suzuki, Alfonso Soriano -- staying put in 2014. Among those, however, Soriano is the only one who's a real lock to begin the year with a full-time role (along with Brett Gardner in center).
Ichiro and Wells could potentially serve as a platoon in right, but that duo was the main reason that the club hit an MLB-worst .251/.296/.358 at the position this season. Given those numbers, the addition of someone like Beltran doesn’t seem so far-fetched.
Though his defensive reputation has declined some in the last few years, Beltran still boasts a potent bat. He’s put up all-star numbers at the plate in his two years with St. Louis, batting .282/.343/.493 with 56 home runs.
Beltran has earned $13 million each of the last two years, so a qualifying offer from the Cardinals is probably in the offing. If the Yankees really want to sign him, then, they’ll have to give up their top pick in the 2014 Draft.
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