Carlos Beltran

"I will be a free agent, and I know if we're not in contention something will happen." Carlos Beltran, Kansas City Royal outfielder, on the possibility of being traded

Underachievers Carlos Beltran was the most sought-after player to change teams at the non-waiver trade deadline last month. And when the punchless San Francisco Giants landed him, it figured to make their path to a second consecutive National League West title a lot easier. But it hasn't worked out that way. The Giants, who led the division by three games when they acquired Beltran, have gone 10-18 since and entered Saturday three games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks in the division race.

'You want to get paid well and at the same time it's not always about money. It's about being happy.' -- Carlos Beltran, outfielder who is eligible for free agency, batted .417 and hit a record-tying eight home runs in the playoffs for the Houston Astros

Under pressure to improve his lineup, Braves General Manager Frank Wren wouldn't send his best pitching prospects to the Mets for Carlos Beltran . That looks like a great decision, and not just because Beltran has been a nonfactor for the Giants. Randall Delgado , 21, and Arodys Vizcaino , 20, pitched great in a win against the Giants on Tuesday, and left-hander Mike Minor , 23, beat the Giants' Tim Lincecum on Thursday. With those three and Julio Teheran , 20, in the wings behind guys such as Tommy Hanson , Jair Jurrjens , Craig Kimbel Kimbrel and Jonny Venters , the Braves should be strong for years.

Home run leaders in the American and National leagues: AMERICAN David Ortiz, Boston 47 Travis Hafner, Cleveland 40 Jermaine Dye, Chicago 39 Jason Giambi, New York 36 Jim Thome, Chicago 36 Troy Glaus, Toronto 34 Manny Ramirez, Boston 34 * NATIONAL Ryan Howard, Philadelphia 48 Alfonso Soriano, Washington 42 Adam Dunn, Cincinnati 38 Albert Pujols, St. Louis 38 Carlos Beltran, New York 38 Lance Berkman, Houston 36 Carlos Delgado, New York 33

MIAMI -- The New York Mets were one strike from defeat before Carlos Beltran came through with the big hit that had eluded them all night. Beltran hit a grand slam with two out in the ninth inning against Kevin Gregg, giving the Mets a 5-4 win over the Florida Marlins. Before Beltran's homer, the Mets were one for seven with runners in scoring position. Trailing, 2-1, they left the bases loaded in the seventh and stranded two in the eighth. "We didn't score early, but we scored when the team needed it the most," Beltran said.

Monday through Wednesday: Mets at New York Thursday through Sunday: Pirates at Dodger Stadium For a team with a $134-million payroll, the New York Mets offer no shortage of reasons for their .500 record. Let us count the ways: Jason Bay , signed for $66 million, has not hit a home run. David Wright is batting .230, with more errors (four) than home runs (three). Jose Reyes is batting .237. Carlos Beltran is on the disabled list. Gary Matthews Jr. is not, but he is batting .179, with 13 strikeouts in 28 at-bats.

Jason Bay homered twice and drove in four runs, Carlos Beltran also went deep and Mike Pelfrey stranded seven runners in scoring position through six gritty innings, leading the New York Mets to a 6-0 victory over the Dodgers on Tuesday night. Pelfrey (5-7) scattered five hits and escaped bases-loaded jams in the fourth and fifth. The right-hander, who came in having beaten every NL team except the Dodgers, won on the road for the first time since May 10 at Colorado, his only other victory away from home this season in nine decisions.

Star center fielder Carlos Beltran was traded from the Kansas City Royals to the Houston Astros on Thursday night as part of a three-way deal that also sent reliever Octavio Dotel to the Oakland Athletics. The Royals wound up with three prospects: highly touted third baseman Mark Teahen and right-hander Mike Wood from Oakland, and catcher John Buck from the Astros. "This is obviously huge for our organization," Astro General Manager Gerry Hunsicker said.

Carlos Beltran was on a cruise ship in the Caribbean when he got the news Tuesday: He was a nearly unanimous choice as American League rookie of the year. The 22-year-old switch-hitting outfielder, who got married Saturday and is on his honeymoon, received 26 of 28 first-place votes in balloting announced Tuesday by the Baseball Writers' Assn. of America. Beltran, who made the minimum $200,000, hit .293 with 22 homers, 108 runs batted in, 112 runs and 27 steals in 35 attempts.

An aging right-hander who has pitched only 40 innings for one of the worst teams in baseball could wind up determining which teams make the World Series this year. Or maybe that honor will go to a gimpy 34-year-old outfielder with two surgically repaired knees whose current team would pay as much as $6 million to get rid of him. Then again, maybe neither will get anywhere close to a pennant race. Such are the vagaries of the week before baseball's July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline, perhaps the busiest and most important seven days of the season.

While players warmed up on the field Wednesday, the public-address system at Dodger Stadium played an instrumental version of an old rap song by the Wu-Tang Clan called "C.R.E.A.M. " — an acronym for "Cash Rules Everything Around Me. " The musical selection provided an appropriate soundtrack for the evening. The Dodgers are bankrupt. The visiting New York Mets are facing a $1-billion lawsuit as a result of their ownership group's ties to financial felon Bernard Madoff. Both teams are strapped for cash and appear to be preparing to unload salaries leading up to the July 31 nonwaiver trade deadline.

Jason Bay homered twice and drove in four runs, Carlos Beltran also went deep and Mike Pelfrey stranded seven runners in scoring position through six gritty innings, leading the New York Mets to a 6-0 victory over the Dodgers on Tuesday night. Pelfrey (5-7) scattered five hits and escaped bases-loaded jams in the fourth and fifth. The right-hander, who came in having beaten every NL team except the Dodgers, won on the road for the first time since May 10 at Colorado, his only other victory away from home this season in nine decisions.

Angel Pagan, Carlos Beltran and Daniel Murphy had RBI doubles in the sixth inning after the Mets were held hitless through five by Rubby De La Rosa, and New York went on to beat the Dodgers, 5-2, on Monday night. Chris Capuano (8-7) allowed six hits and two runs in six innings. The left-hander struck out five and walked two in winning his third decision in a row. Francisco Rodriguez pitched the ninth to earn his 21st save in 24 chances. Mets manager Terry Collins said he's willing to play with a 24-man roster for a few days while shortstop Jose Reyes recovers from a strained left hamstring rather than immediately placing Reyes on the disabled list, ensuring he would be out 15 days.

Dan Haren can spoil a manager, a coaching staff, 24 teammates and an entire fan base with his efficiency, effectiveness and reliability, which is why games such as Saturday night's, when the right-hander could have used a mulligan, seem so odd, so out of place. Haren was rocked for six earned runs and seven hits in four innings of the Angels' 6-1 interleague loss to the New York Mets at Citi Field, by far his worst start of the season. Mets right-hander Mike Pelfrey (4-5) threw his third career complete game, a 123-pitch effort in which he gave up one run, five hits, struck out five and walked none.

Reporting from New York It was Jordan Walden's first game in New York, and the Angels rookie closer admitted he had the jitters. That was apparent when he walked Mets leadoff batter Jose Reyes on five pitches to lead off the bottom of the ninth. "I knew Reyes wasn't going to swing," said Walden, who was summoned to protect a one-run lead, "and I still couldn't throw it down the middle. " Reyes stole second, and Justin Turner drew an eight-pitch walk to put two on with no outs and the heart of the order coming up. In right field, Torii Hunter could feel the moment.

Jimmy Rollins called his shot last year. He proclaimed his Phillies as the team to beat, even though they had not won the division in 14 years. Talk about walking the walk: The Phillies won the NL East, and Rollins took home the MVP as a shortstop with 30 home runs, 20 triples, 38 doubles, 41 stolen bases and 212 hits.

Monday through Wednesday: Mets at New York Thursday through Sunday: Pirates at Dodger Stadium For a team with a $134-million payroll, the New York Mets offer no shortage of reasons for their .500 record. Let us count the ways: Jason Bay , signed for $66 million, has not hit a home run. David Wright is batting .230, with more errors (four) than home runs (three). Jose Reyes is batting .237. Carlos Beltran is on the disabled list. Gary Matthews Jr. is not, but he is batting .179, with 13 strikeouts in 28 at-bats.

Mexican federal police Saturday announced the capture of Carlos Beltran Leyva, an alleged major drug trafficker whose brother, cartel leader Arturo Beltran Leyva, was killed in a shootout with Mexican marines last month. The capture of Carlos Beltran Leyva is a potentially significant gain for authorities because of the intelligence he could provide and because it further weakens one of Mexico's leading and most violent drug-smuggling organizations. Beltran Leyva was captured Wednesday in Culiacan, capital of Sinaloa state, which is an illicit drug center and birthplace of the Beltran Leyvas, along with many of Mexico's top traffickers.