Adrian Beltre picked a good time to become a free agent and a good year to produce like an elite offensive force. Of course we’ve seen this before. Teams should be scared to offer Beltre anything close to the deals given to elite hitters so far this offseason. Beltre has not been especially consistent over his career, though he does play exceptional defense and can be counted on for 25 home runs of so wherever he plays.
Most teams appear to be set at third base or can expect the continued development of a younger player to fill the role. Of the few teams that make sense for Beltre, several of them seem unlikely because of financial issues, the type of home ballpark, or just because he doesn’t seem to fit in with the type of team they are. Nevertheless here are six interesting destinations for Beltre and one that seems especially likely and necessary.