The Yankees continue their rebuild while the Rangers grab one of the best available bats in front of the MLB trade deadline, as Carlos Beltran is headed to the Rangers, reports Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports.
Passan further reports that pitcher Dillon Tate and more (reports indicate two more minor leaguers) would be going back to the Yankees. Tate was the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft.
Beltran is 39 years old, but he's hitting like he's in his prime this season. Through 99 games, he is hitting .304/.344/.546 with 21 doubles, 22 homers and 64 RBI. He doesn't run anymore and might be better suited to DH than play in the outfield -- and the Rangers can accommodate this -- but this is a jolt of power to the middle of the order.
The switch-hitting Beltran could be a nice fit between Ian Desmond and Adrian Beltre, but it remains to be seen exactly how manager Jeff Banister will work together his lineup.
As for Tate, he is very highly touted. He headed into the season ranked as the 36th best prospect in baseball by MLB.com. He was as dominant as anyone in college for UCSB before being selected fourth behind Dansby Swanson, Alex Bregman and Brendan Rodgers in the 2015 draft.
This season, though, has been bad. In 17 outings in Class A, Tate has a 5.40 ERA, 1.62 WHIP and only 55 strikeouts in 65 innings. He's being knocked around, allowing 78 hits in those 65 innings. Still, the upside is there and he's only 22. To get that kind of upside back for a rental (Beltran is a free agent after the season) is a pretty nice move by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
