Adrian Beltre No Longer A Fit For Red Sox; Could Turn To A's

Just recently, free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre expressed his desire to re-sign with the Red Sox. In Boston, Beltre put up big numbers in a bounceback year, and he particularly enjoyed the stadium atmosphere.

However, there's a problem - the Red Sox have now all but traded for Adrian Gonzalez. Once that deal is set, Gonzalez will take over at first base, and Kevin Youkilis will move over to third. With David Ortiz locked in as the designated hitter, all of a sudden there won't be any room left for Beltre.

While Boston likes Beltre as a player, they'd rather have Gonzalez, and so the trade will force Beltre to look elsewhere. His strongest suitor to date has been the Oakland A's, and they're the only team believed to have yet made an offer. By signing Beltre, the A's would upgrade from Kevin Kouzmanoff and a mediocre lineup. However, Beltre will presumably try to drum up interest from other teams as well, as he won't be in a hurry to commit to a team with little fan support and only marginal odds of contending for the playoffs.