The New York Mets’ Carlos Beltran, who is a free agent after this season and having one of his better years, is perhaps the hottest piece on the trade market as the non-waiver deadline approaches next Sunday.

That makes this tweet from SI.com’s Jon Heyman even more intriguing:

strong belief now best beltran offer may come from #rangers. 1 hangup: he prefers nl. atl, sf, milw still in, #tradedeadline

The Rangers hadn’t really been considered anywhere near the front-runner in the Beltran Derby before now, although they were one of several teams that had expressed interest. However, as Heyman points out, Beltran has gone on record as saying he doesn’t want to leave the National League, as he isn’t interested in being a designated hitter.

Since Beltran has 10-and-5 rights and can reject any trade, it seems fairly certain that his destination will be in the National League, with, as Heyman points out, the Giants, Braves and Brewers (in no particular order) the leading possible destinations.