At least one contender appears to be making a late push to pry Adrian Beltre out of Texas.
The Atlanta Braves have had discussions with the Texas Rangers about acquiring the future Hall of Fame third baseman, sources told Jon Morosi of MLB.com.
However, Morosi reports that it's unclear if there's enough momentum to get a deal done prior to Tuesday's 4 p.m. ET deadline. Additionally, any trade would have to be approved by Beltre, who holds 10-and-5 rights and can't be traded without his permission.
Third base was supposed to be something of a black hole for Atlanta this season, but 24-year-old Johan Camargo has emerged to take hold of the starting job. In 80 games this season, Camargo is hitting .253/.344/.433 with 11 home runs. Since the All-Star break, he's turned it up another notch, slashing .290/.333/.516 with a pair of homers and five RBIs over his last eight contests.
Camargo may have put the hot corner on lockdown, but Beltre could serve as a veteran leader for a young Braves squad that's surprisingly emerged as a contender. He'd also offer a potentially lethal bench bat that could play third against left-handers as part of a platoon.
Should Beltre be traded, the team that acquires him would almost certainly be doing so on a strictly rental basis. The 39-year-old has already indicated that he only wants to play for the Rangers in 2019 if he does return for a 22nd season.
Beltre is slashing .292/.342/.404 with five homers and 33 RBIs in 73 games with Texas this season.
