Friday, December 03, 2010

Beltre Smitten With BoSox?

If former Dodger third baseman Adrian Beltre makes his decision on friendships and camaraderie rather than $64M, he may end up staying in Boston after all rather than ideally coming to the Dodgers:

Free agent Adrian Beltre, who manned the hot corner for the Boston Red Sox last season, said Thursday that he hopes to return to Boston next season.

"These guys are my friends and they made me feel part of the team," he told the Boston Globe. "There's a lot going on right now, but I do hope I stay with the Red Sox."

Beltre flew from Los Angeles to the Dominican Republic on Thursday to help David Ortiz with a charity event, according to the newspaper.

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein is heading to next week's winter meetings in Orlando trying to secure either a third baseman or a first baseman, with Youkilis moving back over to his old position.

It's unclear what kind of offer the Red Sox have on the table for Beltre, but the Oakland Athletics have been widely reported to have made a five-year, $64 million offer to the third baseman.

Officials of two clubs monitoring Beltre's negotiations told ESPN.com's Jayson Stark they believe Beltre could sign with the A's quickly. However, Beltre told the Globe he was taking his time.

"I could make a deal right now if I wanted to," he said. "But I want to wait and make sure I make the right decision."

I'm sure agent Scott Boras is pulling all the strings here anyway, but let's just hypothesize just for a minute that Adrian is indeed confused, and prioritizing where he's most comfortable, over a huge sack of cash that could make anyone pretty damn comfortable. Rumors abounded, when Beltre left Los Angeles for Seattle in 2005, that he wasn't privy to all the Dodgers' offers and discussions, and ended up rather forlorn once he found out he was off to the Mariners.

This is your chance, Adrian! Come back home!

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