MLB Roundup 11/2: Carlos Beltrán hired as Mets manager

Carlos Beltrán hired as Mets manager

The Mets fired Mickey Callaway on October 3, and have spent the last month interviewing a long list of candidates to take over their dugout for the next few years, at least. In the end, it reportedly came down to two candidates with no experience in Carlos Beltrán and Eduardo Pérez. The former would ultimately get the job, as was reported and eventually announced on Friday. He’ll be formally introduced on Monday. This is a really interesting hire for a number of reasons. For one thing, Beltrán only retired two years ago, last playing in 2017 for the Astros. He has since spent a couple of years in an advisory role in the Yankees front office.

That is another part of that, with Beltrán having a history working in a front office. We all know the evolution of the managerial job and the connection with the front office. It’s much more of a collaboration now, and Beltrán’s experience can only help. His connection to the Mets franchise can’t be ignored either, with him being one of their best players in the last decade. He spent seven years in New York and put up 31.1 WAR according to Baseball-Reference. Beltrán should be in the Hall of Fame in this writer’s opinion and should wear a Mets hat if/when he gets in. I’d also be remiss not to mention just how notable it is that the two finalists here were both Latinos. It would be great if that was something we didn’t have to think about, but given the demographics of baseball’s leadership positions, that is incredibly notable in a very positive way.

Sox Spin: I don’t really have much here. Alex Cora is excited about this with a fellow Puerto Rico native getting a managerial position. Other than that, Beltrán doesn’t really have much connection with Boston and the Mets aren’t Red Sox competition.