Saturday at Citi Field was supposed to be about Carlos Beltran’s celebration, and in one sense it was. The Mets retired his number before beating the Phillies, honoring one of the best center fielders in franchise history on a day that should have belonged to the past.
But the louder conversation came before the game even started.
Beltran met with the media, and the Mets’ open managerial job was front and center. He had been publicly mentioned as one of the top three candidates, yet he didn’t exactly talk like a man eager to jump into the dugout. Asked about his interest, Beltran made the commitment sound like something he understands deeply - and may not want right now.
Carlos Beltrán was asked if he is interested in becoming the Mets' manager:"Being a manager in Major League Baseball is a huge commitment, very huge commitment. I'm not saying that I'm not willing to take that commitment, but right now, at the position where I am today in life,… pic.twitter.com/oyi4PPzCwb
That hesitation says plenty. Beltran acknowledged the demands that come with managing in the majors, and he pointed to where he is in life now: spending more time with his family and staying involved with his baseball academy in Puerto Rico.
Those are not small side projects. They are the things he’d have to give up, or at least sacrifice heavily, to take the Mets’ job.
For a while, that possibility would have sounded almost inevitable. Beltran was lined up to manage the Mets in 2019 before his connection to Houston’s sign-stealing scandal came to light.
Seven years later, though, his posture has clearly changed. He seems comfortable with the life he has built since leaving the organization, and he does not sound like someone itching to trade that for the grind of a full-time managerial post.
There’s also a practical side to this for Beltran and for the Mets. He still has a good relationship with the organization, and taking the job would naturally put an expiration date on that. If things went sideways, Steve Cohen would eventually have to consider firing a franchise icon, and that is a messy road nobody would want to walk.
For the Mets, this may be the cleaner outcome as well. They have leaned too often on managers without experience, and that history has not exactly worked in their favor. The contrast between interim Andy Green and Mendoza this season only reinforces that point, with Green’s experience giving him a better handle on the daily flow of a season than Mendoza had while learning on the job.
That is why David Stearns would be wise to keep this search grounded. Naming Beltran would have been the kind of move that plays well with frustrated fans in the moment, but it would also have been a risky one. At the moment, the only known candidate without managerial experience is Albert Pujols, and even that comes with a huge caveat: managing the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic is not the same as running a major league club through a full season.
The Mets need an experienced hand, and Beltran’s apparent removal from the race may help point Stearns in that direction. He will want someone he can work with long term, but that partner does not have to be a rookie manager.
In Other News...
Mets Just Turned Another Special Weekend Into A Fan Frustration
The Mets spent Sept. 19 trying to make a weekend feel celebratory, but the timing never quite let it breathe. Carlos Beltrans jersey retirement ceremony landed in the middle of a critical stretch of the season, and the weather did the atmosphere no favors, turning what should have been a polished tribute into another reminder that even the clubs special dates have been hard to stage cleanly this year.
Howie Roses long-awaited celebration is now being pushed to the opening weekend of the 2027 season, a delay tied to ongoing collective bargaining agreement negotiations and, reportedly, his own preference. Still, it fits a broader pattern for the Mets, who have managed to create multiple calendar headaches around their feel-good moments, leaving fans to wonder why so many of the years best intentions keep arriving with some obvious complication attached. [Read more 🡒]
Mets Are Still Waiting For These Offseason Trades To Pay Off
The Mets spent the offseason reshaping the roster with three moves that were supposed to help now and later, most notably swapping Brandon Nimmo for Marcus Semien and Jeff McNeil for Yordan Rodriguez. They also dealt Franklin Gomez for international bonus slot money, a quieter transaction that was meant to open another avenue for future talent. On paper, it was the kind of activity that signals a front office trying to balance immediate needs with longer-term flexibility.
But as 2026 unfolds, the return on those deals still has not arrived in the majors. Semien and Rodriguez have yet to provide the sort of impact the Mets were after, and the bonus pool space from the Gomez trade has not yet translated into any visible payoff either. That leaves these moves sitting in a holding pattern for now, with the real judgment on them likely coming only after the organization finally gets something tangible from one or more of the pieces it acquired. [Read more 🡒]
Former Mets Reliever Is Becoming A Phillies Problem At The Worst Time
When the Phillies brought in Brooks Raley from the Mets to shore up their bullpen, the idea was pretty straightforward: add a trusted left-hander for the stretch run and make a deeper October mix even more dangerous. Raley had done exactly that for New York, giving the Mets a reliable late-inning option and plenty of reasons to believe he could fit into another contenders relief plans without much fuss.
It has not gone that way in Philadelphia. Raley has struggled badly since the move, piling up an 8.71 ERA over 10.1 innings while allowing multiple runs and too many walks, a sharp departure from the steadier version the Mets knew well. With the postseason picture tightening, his spot on the Phillies' playoff roster suddenly looks a lot less secure than anyone expected when the deal was made. [Read more 🡒]