Adrian

Beltre

Beltré and Mauer earned induction into the hallowed halls of Cooperstown on their very first year on the ballot — garnering 95.1 percent and 76.1 percent of the vote respectively. It was a much longer road for Todd Helton, who finally eclipsed the 75% threshold (with 79.7 percent) in his sixth season on the ballot. Billy Wagner fell just five votes short of induction — finishing with 73.8 percent of the vote in his ninth season of eligibility. He should be able to nose it over the finish line in his final year on the ballot. Gary Sheffield was unable to do so in his final year of eligibility, finishing at 63.9 percent. Andruw Jones saw his total slightly rise from 58.1 percent to 61.6 percent in his seventh year on the ballot. Carlos Beltran was the only other player with over 50 percent of the vote — getting 57.1 percent in his second year on the ballot.

It’s incredibly hard for any player to earn a spot in the Hall of Fame during their first year on the ballot. Any candidate who receives votes on 75 percent of all ballots cast will earn election, which usually means just a small handful get in any season. However, it’s certainly an honor for these players to be considered and there are a handful, like Adrián Beltré, Joe Mauer, and Chase Utley who seem likely to have their names called eventually.

Manager Jim Tracy said: ''My trainer tells me he isn’t limited in any way. Is he 100 percent? No.’'

Only two third baseman in history have finished a season with numbers at or above .325-40-100, which is where Beltre projects. Al Rosen (1953) and Ken Caminiti (1996) each took home an MVP trophy. Industry speculation had been that the Dodgers were adopting a stance of not offering any contracts over three years in length, but Beltre’s breakthrough season at 25 has owner Frank McCourt saying, “There is no such policy.”

“I actually lobbed in a call to [agent] Scott [Boras] last week about Adrian, and we’ll get on it very quickly,” DePodesta said. “I want to be as proactive as possible, not just with Adrian but with a lot of our free agents.” At minimum, Beltre is probably going to require a five-year, $60 million contract.

DePodesta didn’t say whether he had made Beltre an opening offer. The Dodgers will want to have this settled relatively soon. If they can’t sign Beltre, they’ll need to make plays for Troy Glaus and Corey Koskie.

Beltre will wear a brace on his ankle for about 10 days before moving into a walking boot. He’ll begin running in about two months.

“We’ve talked in principle more than anything else,” DePodesta said. “We have talked term but not dollars.” An offer may be made next week. The Dodgers will do what they can to re-sign Beltre. If it doesn’t happen, they’ll probably bring in either Troy Glaus or Corey Koskie.

Beltre was bothered by the ankle all season long. He’ll probably need 4-6 weeks to recover from the surgery.

That wasn’t going to be good enough, and the Dodgers had to know that from the start. Of course, that didn’t stop them from spending more than two months talking about how high of a priority Beltre was.