New York Mets right fielder Carlos Beltran's next home may still be in the National League East. Among the most active scouting occurring in the Beltran sweepstakes involves intra-division teams.

Gordon Lakey, the director of major league scouting for the Philadelphia Phillies, has been in New York to watch Beltran, who is in the final year of his contract. Meanwhile, the Mets have ramped up monitoring of Atlanta Braves and Phillies prospects, according to multiple major league sources.

The San Francisco Giants also had senior adviser Paul Turco watching Beltran for several days, a source said.

Sources have identified the Detroit Tigers and Boston Red Sox also as interested in Beltran, but one official indicated Detroit is focused on starting pitching, including San Diego right-hander Aaron Harang.

While ESPNBoston.com's Gordon Edes reported the Red Sox are unwilling to meet the Mets' high prospect demand for Beltran, ESPN The Magazine's Buster Olney reported Friday that the Red Sox remain aggressive in their pursuit.

Baseball sources also told Olney that the Texas Rangers are one of the teams that are serious about getting the outfielder.

A major league executive said he has been informed Beltran's preference in a trade is to remain in the National League where he is familiar with the pitching and would not be used as a designated hitter.

According to a source familiar with the pursuit of Beltran, the Mets may try to pry Randall Delgado or Arodys Vizcaino from the Braves, although obtaining either prospect appears overly ambitious.

Both are pitching at Double-A Mississippi. Vizcaino is the Braves' No. 3 prospect (No. 47 overall), and Delgado No. 4 (No. 50 overall), on ESPN Insider Keith Law's rankings list.

Vizcaino was traded from the New York Yankees to the Braves in December 2009 with Melky Cabrera and Mike Dunn for Javier Vazquez and Boone Logan.