Quiet offseason stuns Beltran
When Carlos Beltran interviewed for the Yankees’ managerial job, he didn’t get it — but general manager Brian Cashman did offer him a role working alongside him in the front office.
Beltran declined and opted to stay home with his family for a year, though he didn’t rule out taking a similar job with the Yankees in the future.
Though Beltran didn’t take the position, he’s still keeping a close eye on the game and is as stunned as anyone else by what has happened in free agency this offseason.
“It’s been a weird offseason for the players,’’ Beltran said. “No guys are signing. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
He then uttered the dreaded word that has led to work stoppages in the past.
“You don’t want to think about collusion because you never know,’’ Beltran said. “I’m not saying it’s happening, but it could be. Maybe yes, maybe no. It could be analytics. Teams are not gonna make a commitment to players for seven years like we did in the past. Now commit to three or four years.”
Beltran was speaking at the Thurman Munson Awards Dinner benefitting AHRC at the Grand Hyatt in Midtown on Tuesday after the MLBPA and the commissioner’s office took swipes at each other by releasing statements about the unusual pace to the offseason.
“It seems like there are a lot of good players out there without contracts,’’ Beltran said. “It has to do a lot with the way [teams] value players these days and sabermetrics .I understand [MLBPA chief] Tony Clark’s worry for the players There’s hope that players get the deals they deserve and move on with their seasons.’’
Another retired former Yankee didn’t understand the changes in the dynamics.
“There are a lot of people out there, All-Stars, some of them 32, 33 [years old] in the prime of their careers,” Jorge Posada said. “I had my best year in baseball when I was 37 years old. I don’t understand it. … Baseball needs guys that have been through the ringer.”
Beltran said he sees both sides of the argument.
“Before, teams made decisions based on emotions and whether they like the guy,’’ Beltran said. “Now, they make decisions based on facts and what have you done and what they project you’ll continue to do based on stats and analytics. … I do believe analytics are a big part of baseball, but analytics don’t measure the heart, the desire of the player.”
Beltran added he won’t be joining his former Astros teammates at their trip to the White House to commemorate their World Series title, but insisted it wasn’t because of any issues with Donald Trump.
“I’m retired,” said Beltran, who has been critical of the government’s response to Hurricane Maria in his native Puerto Rico. “I wish those guys the best and hope they enjoy their day. … He’s the President of the United States. Sometimes we don’t like the things he does or like the things he does. At the end of the day, he’s the president, so it has nothing to do with that.”