NATURAL FIT
Beltran returning to Mets dugout as new manager
The Mets are going back to the future for their new manager.
Carlos Beltran, who played seven seasons with the team as part of his likely Hall of Fame résumé, was hired Friday as Mickey Callaway’s replacement, the Mets announced.
The 42-year-old Beltran beat out finalists Eduardo Perez and Derek Shelton for the job and will become the first Latino manager in franchise history. He will be introduced at a Citi Field press conference on Monday at 11 a.m. Beltran received a three-year contract with a club option for 2023.
“Congratulations to Carlos, We are thrilled, as we know our passionate fans will be, to have him back in the family,” Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said in a statement. “Thanks to Brodie [Van Wagenen] and the entire baseball operations staff on this expansive, diverse and collaborative managerial search process.”
Beltran’s hiring signifies a shift in organizational philosophy, away from established coaches and former managers in favor of a communicator who will collaborate with the front office, led by Van Wagenen. In a similar move, the Yankees reached into the broadcast booth two years ago to hire Aaron Boone, who lacked previous experience.
“Thanks to Jeff [Wilpon] and the ownership group for their ongoing support as we worked through a very detailed managerial search process,” Van Wagenen said. “We are very excited to bring Carlos on board as our next manager and reintroduce him to Mets fans next week.”
The reunion between Beltran and the Mets seemed unlikely at the start given the player’s thorny relationship with the Wilpons when he departed the organization in 2011. The sides had feuded the previous year, after Beltran underwent knee surgery that sidelined him for half the season. The Mets contended Beltran had the surgery without their permission. Beltran, who arrived to the Mets on a seven-year contract worth $119 million, was dealt to the Giants in July 2011 in a deal that netted Zack Wheeler. He later played for the Cardinals, Yankees and Astros, winning a World Series in his final year as a player with Houston in 2017.
Other Mets managers who previously played for the team include Gil Hodges, Yogi Berra, Roy McMillan, Joe Torre, Bud Harrelson, Mike Cubbage, Dallas Green, Bobby Valentine and Willie Randolph.
Beltran had backers in special assistant Omar Minaya — who as Mets general manager signed him before the 2005 season — and assistant GM Allard Baird. The relationship between Beltran and Baird dates to the 1990s with the Royals.
Among Beltran’s first chores will be assembling a coaching staff, with an emphasis on an experienced lieutenant in the dugout. Terry Collins remains on the team payroll as a special assistant and could be considered for the bench coach role; however an industry source on Friday indicated the former Mets manager had not been asked to take the job. But Collins, given his tight relationship with Beltran, would consider the possibility if asked.
Van Wagenen had spent the last month interviewing candidates, most of whom lacked previous MLB managing experience. Most notably, Van Wagenen met twice with Joe Girardi, who ultimately was bypassed and signed a three-year deal to manage the Phillies.
Beltran spent this season as a special assistant to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman after interviewing for the team’s managerial position that went to Boone two years ago. Beltran indicated last month that he declined opportunities to interview for other managerial openings because he wanted to focus on the Mets vacancy.
Perez, an ESPN analyst whose father, Tony, starred for the Big Red Machine teams of the 1970s and is enshrined in the Hall of Fame, was an intriguing outside-the-box candidate to team officials, according to sources. Shelton, the Twins’ bench coach, has been linked to the Pirates, who are left with the Giants in seeking a new manager.