Carlos Beltran Decision Expected This Week

As Yahoo's Tim Brown reported yesterday, one club involved in the Carlos Beltran derby should expect a Christmas gift before Sunday, as Beltran is expected to decide on his new team this week. Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch hears the same thing, noting that Beltran is weighing a variety of two- and three-year contract offers from five different clubs. Based on various reports, including Goold's, the Blue Jays, Red Sox, Rays, Cardinals, and one other NL team are believed to be in on the 34-year-old. Here are the rest of today's Beltran rumors, with the newest additions on top: The Cards view Coco Crisp as a "Plan B or another direction" if Beltran signs elsewhere, a source tells Goold. How quickly Beltran can return to his home in Puerto Rico is something of a factor in his decision, tweets ESPN.com's Buster Olney. While this would seem to favor a team like the Rays, it doesn't rule out the Jays, given the non-stop flights between...