Kuzul

As a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan at heart, let me be the first to assure you the team should not and almost certainly will not ultimately sign Adrian Beltre.

Though the slick-fielding third baseman is the best free agent left on the market by far, the fact that Beltre employs Scott Boras to do his negotiating means he will go for tippity-top dollar. It also means this is precisely the position Scotty wanted his client in i.e. the biggest and brightest name left in neon lights because it adds a heavy dose of leverage to the proceedings.

In other words, we can already see the grind for max money starting.

Furthermore, while the former Los Angeles Dodger star authored the greatest season of his career (2004) in the NL West, he’s written far more underwhelming ones in the same or similarly hostile confines for a hitter (see: entire career with the Seattle Mariners).

Then there’s the matter of the former Boston Red Sox’ age—he’ll be 32 within about a week of Opening Day in 2011. That’s not ancient by any means, but it ain’t young either and it’s on the wrong side of a major-leaguer’s prime.

When you fit all those pieces together, you get a very clear picture of a very inefficient allocation of resources. With Barry Zito (another high-profile Boras client, which is no coincidence) and Aaron Rowand already consuming more than they produce, bringing more contractual fat aboard makes absolutely zero sense.

Nevertheless, if you remove the franchise-killing agent from the portrait, a possible deal becomes a whole lot more intriguing.

Because there are definitely 10 reasons the San Francisco Giants could use Adrian Beltre…

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The latest MLB rumors on Adrian Beltre, Rafael Soriano and Derrek Lee are here, and Bleacher Report has the inside track on where these players may be headed, for how many years and for how much. 

Beltre leads the class of remaining free agents, and although there are only a few teams reportedly in the sweepstakes, there may be a few dark-horse candidates that no one else is talking about.

As for Soriano, he represents the best remaining relief pitcher on the free-agent market, yet his name hasn’t appeared in many Hot Stove reports. While pitchers like Bobby Jenks and Dan Wheeler have found new homes, Soriano remains available.

Derrek Lee talks have heated up over the last week or so, and it appears he may be the closest to signing with a new team. 

All these discussions, speculations, predictions and more are in the latest addition of MLB Rumors.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

It has been an eventful 2010 off-season for Major League Baseball. Some of the league’s biggest names have changed uniforms, most notably Cliff Lee (back to the Phillies), Carl Crawford (Red Sox), Adrian Gonzalez (Red Sox) and Jayson Werth (Nationals). 

Of the remaining free agents, Adrian Beltre and Derek Lee seem to be the best position players still without a contract. Rumors are swirling all over the board as to the possible value of Beltre’s contract, and where Derek Lee will choose to play ball for the 2011 season. 

Besides Beltre and Lee, trade talks are ever-present, and prospective suitors also have other moves on the brain. Here are the most recent rumors, with speculation as to what they actually mean for Beltre, Lee, other free agents, and the teams involved.

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Now that top free agents Cliff Lee, Jayson Werth and Carl Crawford are off the market, teams can now focus on other free agents that can greatly enhance their rosters without paying them nine figures. 

These players come from a multitude of teams, but most are veterans either looking for their largest payday or for one last run at glory.

Here is a list of the top 10 free agents still on the market:

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With Zach Greinke off the board signing with the Milwaukee Brewers, what if the Twins were in a position to grab their neighbor to the east’s other prized possession, Prince Fielder? Bleacher Report will examine this possibility and rate it on a scale of one to 10 with one being the least likely. We will also look at a few other stars in major league baseball and their chances of playing the Twin Cities in the near future.

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With Christmas approaching and Santa having decided that Carl Crawford was a better gift for the Boston Red Sox, where do the 2011 Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim go from here?

While it was disappointing to lose out on a high profile free agent, not committing $142 million over seven years to a player who is not a true lead off hitter nor a true power and RBI threat, for the number three or clean up spot wasn’t the worst thing to happen to the Angels. If the front office and fans are still getting headaches thinking about Gary Matthews Jr’s contract, how would they feel watching Crawford play out the final three years of his new deal?

Click here to continue article at LA Angels Insider.com

Also available in our podcast section. AM830‘s Jason Brennan and OC Register writer Dan Woike discuss the Angels options for the remainder of the 2010/2011 offseason.

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Eric Denton is the head writer and content editor at LA Angels Insider.com. Angels coverage from the locker room to the press box to the front office and everywhere in between. Featuring interviews with the players and coaches making headlines for the Angels.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Heading into the offseason, the Yankees considered themselves favorites to land Cliff Lee, and the Rangers definitely thought they had a chance. The Angels though they could sign Carl Crawford, and several teams around the league believed they could bring in Zack Greinke.

With all three players off the market—Lee in Philly, Greinke in Milwaukee and Crawford in Boston—GM’s around baseball are scrambling to find that backup plan, fill their budgets and put a competitive team on the field heading into 2011.

Some backup moves work out. But when teams panic, things rarely go well.

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With Christmas just around the corner, and the Winter GM Meetings already a thing of the past, Major League Baseball’s Hot Stove league is well underway.

Going into this offseason, there was much talk about guys like Cliff Lee, the one true ace available, Jayson Werth, considered the best offensive threat on the market, and Carl Crawford, the superlative all-around threat coming off of arguably his best season.

Now, all of those names are spoken for with nine-figure contracts.  Lee has taken his talents back to Broad Street, Werth won’t get to reunite with Lee as he bolted for the Nationals, and Crawford will be fronting a revamped Red Sox lineup that will also feature Adrian Gonzalez, acquired in a trade with San Diego.

So where does that leave everyone else? 

There is still plenty of talent left out there, and a number of teams looking to fill holes going into 2011.  Well fear not, fearless reader!  In this feature, we count down the top ten remaining free agents, and predict where they might be headed.  So read on to make sense of the free agent landscape as it currently stands.

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Los Angeles Angels owner Arte Moreno could probably be accused of a lot of things, but one of them will never be loyalty to his fan base. In the seven plus years that Arte Moreno has owned the Angels, he has steadfastly committed himself that the baseball experience at Angels Stadium remains affordable for fans, and that, with the exception of the 5-year, $90 million contract given to center fielder Torii Hunter, the team remains committed to exercising fiduciary responsibility.

However, Angels fans have increasingly voiced their obvious frustration at the Los Angeles Angels lackluster performance at the free agency negotiating tables in recent years. Mark Teixeira, John Lackey, Chone Figgins, C.C. Sabathia, Carl Crawford. All have slipped through the Angels fingertips in the past three years. And Angels fans are not happy to say the least.

Yesterday, Dec. 17, the Angels made what was termed a “significant offer” to free agent third baseman Adrian Beltre, who enjoyed an outstanding season with the Boston Red Sox last year, hitting .321 with 28 HR and 102 RBI, while continuing to play his usual stellar defense at the corner bag.

However, Arte Moreno told the LA Times that this offer was final and would not be increased. Take it or leave it.

Reports have come out that indicate Adrian Beltre is looking for a six year offer, somewhere in the neighborhood of $90 million. While Adrian Beltre would love to play closer to home, at this point in his career coming off an excellent season, it would be foolhardy to think he would take a hometown discount.

While it may be admirable that Halos owner Arte Moreno remains committed to financial responsibility in support of his team fan base, he also needs to understand and listen to his fans concerning the product on the field. Sure, signing Hisanori Takahashi and Scott Downs were nice moves to shore up a sagging bullpen, but now comes the time to address the power-lacking lineup, and signing Beltre would go a long way toward appeasing the disgruntled fan base and addressing power concerns.

I’m all for the stance that Arte Moreno appears to be taken. He told the LA Times that he’s not the Boston Red Sox or the New York Yankees.

However on the other, he is the steward of a team that has only missed the playoffs twice in the last seven seasons, and fans have come to expect excellence from their team on the field.

Moreno is going to have to pony up, whether he likes it or not.

For updates on breaking sports news, follow Doug on Twitter @Sports_A_Holic.

You can also read articles Doug has written about celebrity athletes, charity news and breaking celebrity stories at Green Celebrity Network.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

That man is smiling because Adrian Beltre is currently the “hottest” item left on the Major League Baseball winter stove now that Cliff Lee, Carl Crawford, Jayson Werth, Victor Martinez and Adam Dunn have found greener pastures.

Or more luxurious estates with more elegantly manicured lawns amidst a community with higher gates.

You say potato, I say potato…

The point is that the prize of the offseason is now a 31-year-old third baseman who’s proven to be underwhelming unless surrounded by an elite supporting cast, working in a hitter’s yard and/or playing for a new contract.

Oh, and he’s represented by Scott Boras.

What you just heard was the sound of 30 major-league teams shuffling through the deck for more efficient options or a more pleasant negotiating partner (which shouldn’t be hard unless this human Porta-John is the only name in their contacts).

And the first ones to pass were likely out near the Left Coast.

Based on the free-agent doings in the National League West, you can bet the Arizona Diamondbacks, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Colorado Rockies never even saw Beltre’s tires. Forget about kicking them.

The former Dodger seems priced out of each club’s budget and superfluous based on existing options at the hot corner.

So no, Adrian Beltre almost certainly won’t be in the division next year.

But there are other players who could help and Spring Training is still months away so the dealing’s not done. With that in mind, here are 15 players (really 12) who might be competing in the NL West come 2011:

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