The Los Angeles Dodgers were one of the more active teams before the both the July 31 non-waiver and Aug. 21 waiver trade deadline this season. After acquiring Brian Dozier and Manny Machado, they bolstered their bullpen by trading for Ryan Madson and added a position player in the form of infielder David Freese.
Given the Dodgers’ struggles against left-handed pitching this season, trading for a right-handed bat was identified by general manager Farhan Zaidi as an area the club was looking to address. That was even after adding Machado and Dozier before the non-waiver deadline.
According to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News, before trading for Freese, the Dodgers twice inquired on a reunion with Texas Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre, although he refused to waive his no-trade clause due to his desire to stay in Texas:
Two sources later confirmed the team that had reached out was no run-of-the-mill contender, but rather the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Dodgers had also expressed some interest in him before the July 31 deadline, too.
The Dodgers signed Beltre out of the Dominican Republic when he was just 15 years old, and he played his first seven seasons with the franchise before signing with the Seattle Mariners in 2005. He hit 48 home runs and drove in 121 runs in his last season with Los Angeles.
Now 39 years old, Beltre is nearing the end of his Hall-of-Fame career and could have provided the Dodgers a valuable bat of the bench in addition to spelling Justin Turner at third base every so often.
In 98 games for the Rangers this season, Beltre is hitting .270/.329/.384 with eight home runs and 48 RBI.
Beltre was a favorite in his time with the Dodgers, so the fans certainly would have been excited for his return. But alas, there wasn’t a reunion to be had as Freese instead was added to the mix.
