Newly hired Carlos Beltran has stepped down as manager of the New York Mets. Beltran was named the manager of the Mets back in November. Due to the ongoing cheating scandal involving the Houston Astros, the Mets and Beltran agreed to part ways.
Word is parting with Beltran was “mutual.” So the determination was that the situation was untenable from the team’s perspective.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 16, 2020
Astros Scandal Continues as New York Mets Manager Carlos Beltran Steps Down
Beltran was a player with the Astros in 2017 and was reportedly one of the leaders in the scandal. MLB acted swiftly by penalizing the Astros and suspending manager AJ Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow. Astros owner Jim Crane immediately fired both Hinch and Luhnow.
The Boston Red Sox have parted ways with their manager Alex Cora who was seen as the ring leader when he was the bench coach with the Astros in 2017. MLB is now investigating the Red Sox for cheating during the 2018 season.
Beltran’s Coaching Career
Carlos Beltran has never served as a manager or coach on any level. So his hire was met with a lot of question marks. Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen was making his first-ever managerial hire in his brief career. Beltran was a former Mets player and had one of the best tenures of any player in the history of the franchise.
His hire was seen as yet another out of the box move made by the Mets. Beltran’s reputation around the league was seen as one of the best. He was often seen as a man of integrity and was extremely respected by all players especially the Latino ones.
Beltran felt his inclusion in the report released by Commissioner Manfred would be a big distraction for the 2020 Mets season.
Beltran Released this Statement
“At a meeting this morning with Jeff and Brodie we mutually agreed to part ways. I’m grateful to them for giving me the opportunity, but we agreed this decision is in the best interest of the team. I couldn’t let myself be a distraction for the team. I wish the entire organization success in the future.”
Beltran who never managed one game now has had one of the shortest managerial careers in the history of the sport.
Statement from Carlos Beltrán. pic.twitter.com/gv9NNIzoQd
— New York Mets (@Mets) January 16, 2020
Mets Statement
Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and executive vice president/general manager Brodie Van Wagenen issued the following statement:
“We met with Carlos last night and again this morning and agreed to mutually part ways. This was not an easy decision. Considering the circumstances, it became clear to all parties that it was not in anyone’s best interest for Carlos to move forward as Manager of the New York Mets. We believe that Carlos was honest and forthcoming with us. We are confident that this will not be the final chapter in his baseball career. We remain excited about the talent on this team and are committed to reaching our goals of winning now and in the future.”
Statement from #Mets COO Jeff Wilpon and Executive Vice President & General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen on Carlos Beltrán. pic.twitter.com/tDSBLczoIA
— New York Mets (@Mets) January 16, 2020
Mets Outlook
If there is a silver lining for the Mets it would be that it is still January and the season is three months away from starting. Additionally, the Mets did a very long manager search with some of those names still being available.
However one of the names that have a lot of legs is former manager Terry Collins returning to manage the team. Collins is still in the Mets organization and is familiar with the players. There has been no indication of any shortlist of candidates or how long the Mets will take.
