Rangers’ Adrian Beltre could’ve been traded last week. Why he preferred to stay.

Adrian Beltre and the Texas Rangers’ front office had trade discussions before the Aug. 31 waiver deadline passed last Friday at 11 p.m., but nothing came to fruition.

Beltre would have had to given an OK to any trade, and only would have done so in the perfect situation. That didn’t happen.

“I’m still here, right?” Beltre said. “The only way it was going to happen — me going somewhere — is if it made sense for both parties: me and the team. Obviously, they understand that for me, it’s always been important to have a chance to win the World Series. If something comes up, let me know, if it makes sense for them and [me].

“Obviously, it didn’t make sense for both of us. We had a discussion, and that’s why I’m here.”

Rangers president and general manager Jon Daniels said the organization would’ve honored a trade request had Beltre made one. At least one contending team expressed interest last week.

“We’ve gone this whole way when something has presented itself, we’ve brought it to Adrian and tried not to editorialize or place any filters on it — just, hey, here’s the situation. What do you think?” Daniels said. “If he wanted to push and push for the trade, we would’ve honored that. For him not to have done so says a lot — how he feels about his teammates and the fans in particular. That piece of it I’m in awe of.”

Beltre and Daniels didn’t say which team(s) inquired about his services. The Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers acquired right-handed hitting third basemen last week. The Indians acquired Josh Donaldson from Toronto, and the Dodgers acquired David Freese from Pittsburgh.

But Beltre doesn’t sound like a player who was going to find a “perfect situation,” regardless of which teams expressed interest.

“I was not eager to leave this place. I’ve been here for eight years,” Beltre said. “I’ve been grateful for the chance to be in the World Series and almost win it. It’s not easy to just pack your things and go. There’s a lot of things to be considered and, like I’ve said before, I’d like to retire as a Ranger.

“I don’t know how that’s going to happen because I don’t know where I stand for next year. And if I do, I don’t know if they still want me back. So, I feel like questions need to be answered, but it was not a difficult decision to make. The only way that I could’ve gone somewhere was if it was a perfect situation for me and the organization.”

As Beltre said, he has not made a call on 2019 yet. He turns 40 next April and very well could call it a career after this season.

Beltre already has Hall of Fame numbers. He went into Monday’s game against the Los Angeles Angels with 3,144 hits, 470 home runs, 1,690 RBIs and a career WAR of 94.9.

For now, Beltre is focused on staying healthy and helping the ballclub “finish strong.” He feels close to 100 percent and is expected to start at third base on Tuesday.

Manager Jeff Banister spent part of his pregame meeting with reporters raving about what Beltre has meant to the organization, and admitted he dreads the idea of not having Beltre around the clubhouse.

Beltre is simply one of the living legends the game has to offer in Banister’s mind.

“The everyday greatness. The grace by which he plays the game,” Banister said. “The joy. The smile. The antics. Some of the jokes inside the clubhouse, things that he says inside the dugout that you guys don’t get to hear. He’s so fast and so quick-witted on a number of things. He’s one of the best players to ever play the game and still has that 13-year-old mentality inside the dugout.

“All of those things plus he doesn’t want to leave the field. He doesn’t want to stop playing. There’s not only that, but the drive to be great.”

This story was originally published September 3, 2018 at 5:42 PM.