Mets to hire former All-Star Beltran as new coach
Carlos Beltran, the former All-Star center fielder who played seven seasons for the New York Mets but is also remembered for striking out on the cusp of a trip to the World Series, has been named the team’s new manager.
Beltrán received a threeyear contract that includes a club option for 2023.
The hiring ends a search that began after the Mets fired Mickey Callaway in October after two more years out of the postseason. Born in Puerto Rico, he will be the team’s first Latino manager.
Beltran, 42, played for the
Mets from 2005 to 2011 and was a five-time All-Star during his span, earning three Gold Gloves. He also played for Kansas City, Houston, San Francisco, St. Louis, Texas and the New York Yankees, collecting four more AllStar appearances.
While Beltran was one of the best players in baseball during his Mets years, many fans in New York still remember him for one of the more iconic, and painful, moments in the team’s recent history. Striding to the plate with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 7 of the 2006 National League Championship Series, Beltran struck out on three pitches against St. Louis reliever Adam Wainwright to end the series. The final pitch, a devastating curveball, caught him with the bat on his shoulder, sending the Cardinals to the World Series and the Mets home for the winter.
He retired in 2017, and promptly interviewed for — and failed to get — the Yankees’ managerial job. He has spent the last year as a special assistant to Yankees general manager Brian
Cashman. He will take over the Mets despite having no previous experience in a managing or coaching role in the majors or the minor leagues.
Callaway finished 163161 in his two years as manager. The Mets finished the 2019 season 8676 and failed to make the playoffs for the 11th time in 13 seasons.
Option day
• The Kansas City Royals declined their half of a mutual option with Alex Gordon, making the veteran outfielder a free agent, according to published reports. Gordon had already exercised his side of the option. He now will be paid a $4 million contract buyout instead of the $23 million he would have received if the Royals brought him back for the 2020 season on his existing contract terms.
• The Texas Rangers have declined 2020 contract options for relievers Shawn Kelley and Nate Jones, and newly acquired catcher Welington Castillo. They all became free agents. Texas acquired Castillo in a trade from the Chicago White Sox on Thursday.
• Two days after winning their first World Series title, the Washington Nationals declined a $4 million mutual option for 2020 on backup first baseman Matt Adams. Adams gets a $1 million buyout and becomes a free agent. The 31-year-old hit .226 with 20 homers and 56 RBIs in 111 games during the regular season.
• The Marlins have declined their $16 million option on infielder Starlin Castro for 2020 and will pay him a $1 million buyout, allowing him to become a free agent. Castro, 29, batted .270 and had career-high totals of 22 homers and 86 RBIs.
• Infielder Freddy Galvis’ $5.5 million option for next season has been exercised by the Reds.