No reunion for Yanks, Beltran
Signs $16M deal with Houston
There won’t be a reunion between the Yankees and Carlos Beltran.
The free-agent slugger agreed to a oneyear deal worth a reported $16 million with the Astros on Saturday, leaving the Yankees with one less bat to pursue this offseason.
The Yankees traded Beltran to Texas in July during the final season of his three-year contract, and there had been interest in bringing him back on a short-term deal. Instead, he will join another former Yankee, Brian McCann, in Houston.
According to sources, the Yankees did not offer Beltran a contract before he signed with Houston.
With the winter meetings set to begin Monday, the Yankees will have to see what else is available. General manager Brian Cashman has been in contact with the representatives for Edwin Encarnacion. They also could turn to Matt Holliday or Mike Napoli, both veterans who would come far cheaper than Encarnacion.
Another option is Chris Carter, who was designated for assignment by the Brewers, despite hitting a career-high — and NL-leading — 41 homers in 2016.
Beltran, who turns 40 in April, will be going back to one of his old teams, with whom he has had a complicated relationship.
Traded from Kansas City to Houston in 2004, Beltran went on to have one of the most dominant postseasons in MLB history, hitting eight homers in 12 games, with a 1.557 OPS, as the Astros fell one win short of the World Series.
Beltran went on from that postseason to sign with the Mets and Astros fans never forgave him for it, booing him whenever he played in Houston over the past 12 years.
In 2016, he finished with a combined 29 homers and 93 RBIs.