CLEVELAND — This isn’t Carlos Beltran’s first rodeo. To the contrary, Beltran very well may be the rodeo king, as long as “rodeo” means “non-waivers trade deadline.”
The Royals dealt him to the Astros in June 2004, his final season of team control before his initial foray into free agency, for John Buck, Mark Teahen and Mike Wood, the latter two coming from the Athletics in the three-way transaction. The Mets traded him to the Giants in July 2011, the final season of his seven-year contract, for Zack Wheeler.