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Carlos Beltran

Hensley Meulens “Strong Frontrunner” To Be Mets’ Bench Coach

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Hensley Meulens is a “strong frontrunner” to become the next bench coach for the New York Mets, though the team is not confirming any new hire decisions at this time, tweets Andy Martino of the SNY Network. Jennifer Mercedes of La Vida Baseball (via Twitter) is hearing that the Mets and their newly-hired manager Carlos Beltran are ready to tab Meulens in the role now. This level of scuttlebutt often leads to an announcement from the team, though Martino suggests nothing official is imminent.

Meulens has made the rounds the past couple of seasons as a new manager candidate, and he would come to New York highly-regarded after a defining career on the coaching staff of the San Francisco Giants. He spent the past two seasons in the same role he’ll potentially man in New York, serving as bench coach to Bruce Bochy. He was Bochy’s hitting coach from 2010 to 2017, during which time the Giants won three championships. Beltran, of course, crossed paths with Meulens during his short stint in a Giants uniform in the 2011 season.

The Marlins reportedly offered Meulens a role on Don Mattingly’s staff, with whom Meulens was a teammate for parts of five seasons from 1989 to 1993 as a player with the New York Yankees. Meulens was also in conversation with the Giants about their open managerial position before being informed recently that he was no longer in the running.

Joey Cora, Fredi Gonzalez, Jerry Narron, and Terry Collins have also been named at various times as potential candidates to assume the role of Beltran’s right-hand man. Meulens has less managerial experience than some of the other candidates listed, though he did manage the Netherlands in the World Baseball Classic in 2013 and 2017. Along with his many years under the leadership of Bochy, Meulens would presumably provide plenty of insight and guidance for the Mets’ rookie skipper.

GM Meetings Notes: Mets, White Sox, Red Sox

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The Mets have about $20MM to spend to stay under the luxury tax, and though they haven’t ruled out going over for a season, history suggests otherwise, writes MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo. The rotation is largely set with Cy Young Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Marcus Stroman, and Steven Matz locked into the top four spots. Despite the rumblings, GM Brodie Van Wagenen has been adamant about Syndergaard staying put, and as for the fifth rotation spot, relievers Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman are very real candidates. Free agent upgrades are more likely to bolster the bullpen, which is already a man down if Lugo or Gsellman jump to the rotation. Of course, the best upgrade they could hope for would come in the form of a bounceback season from closer Edwin Diaz. Diaz is putting in extra work this winter in Puerto Rico, and for what it’s worth, new manager and fellow Puerto Rican Carlos Beltran “considers mentoring Diaz one of his top priorities.” Here are some more notes coming out of the GM meetings…

  • White Sox GM Rick Hahn attempted to temper expectations before projecting bloated win totals for his club in 2020, per the Chicago Tribune’s Paul Sullivan. It’s an exciting time nonetheless for those on the south side of Chicago, with high-end youngsters Nick Madrigal, Luis Robert, and Michael Kopech expected to establish themselves as big leaguers. They have money to spend on pitching or an outfielder, and a tough decision to make on newly-minted gold glover Yolmer Sanchez. Madrigal is likely to unseat Sanchez from his regular role at second, and with Sanchez due to make roughly $6.2MM through arbitration, he’s definitely a possible non-tender. The Sox love him from a character perspective and aren’t eager to kick him curbside, but even with his new hardware in tow, $6.2MM after a .252/.318/.321 season is probably a touch too rich for the ChiSox.
  • The Red Sox are facing a different kind of offseason under the leadership of Chaim Bloom, per Alex Speier of the Boston Globe. Scaling back the payroll is objective A, and the Red Sox are active in trade discussions around just about everyone on the roster. The media has Mookie Betts as the fulcrum of Boston’s trade activity, but he’s expensive on a one-year deal and unlikely to sign an extension, mitigating any trade return and making a deal unlikely. It’s more likely the Red Sox find their desired breathing room by trading from their rotation: David Price, Chris Sale, and/or Nathan Eovaldi. Meanwhile, discussions with free agents are largely on the backburner as they look for creative ways to free up space in the payroll.

NL Notes: Rockies, Marlins, Mets

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The Rockies pitching staff collapsed in 2019, and it led to a myriad of attempted fixes, per The Athletic’s Nick Groke. So far, however, the Rockies remain at a loss. There is concern about the state of the baseball and how it reacts in Colorado’s altitude, but scouts around baseball also point to a habit of “careless deliveries” among Colorado hurlers as a cause for concern. Bud Black and his team are hard at work trying to diagnose the issue(s), and without payroll flexibility over the winter, identifying internal solutions might be their best chance at improvement in 2020. Still, it’s a dispiriting read for Colorado’s fans, as the Groke writes that the Rockies went so far as to “shut down their top starter, 24-year-old German Márquez, in late August, in part to save him from the bombardment.” They’ll have a clean slate in 2020, but a long road ahead as the Dodgers remain a juggernaut, while the Diamondbacks and Padres are rising contenders. Let’s check in elsewhere around the NL…

  • The Marlins feel much differently about the future of their pitching staff. This season definitely opened some eyes to the burgeoning talent in Miami’s rotation, but the best may be yet to come. Miami management believes they have a dozen or more identifiable arms in their system with big-league rotation potential, per Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald. Jose Urena has been the big name of the rotation in year’s past, but his future is uncertain with Caleb Smith, Sandy Alcantara, Jordan Yamamoto, Pablo Lopez, and Elieser Hernandez all competing for regular roles next year.
  • Managing the Mets is not the easiest job in baseball, but in tabbing Carlos Beltran for the role, New York found someone who knows what to expect and is ready to handle the unique challenge of managing in Queens, per The Athletic’s Tim Britton. Beltran is a long-respected clubhouse leader, and though he’ll be new to the managing role, he is no stranger to the New York spotlight. Ownership rarely takes a backseat for the Mets, but Beltran’s existing relationships will help him in that department as well. The biggest obstacle to a successful tenure for Beltran remains in Atlanta, DC, and Philadelphia.

Mets Name Carlos Beltran Manager

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The Mets have officially named Carlos Beltran their next manager. He’ll reportedly earn approximately $3MM over the guaranteed three-year term, with a club option to follow.

Carlos Beltran | Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

If indeed a deal is ticked and tied, it’ll launch a fascinating new chapter in Mets history. Beltran, a recently retired former Mets star who left the organization on less-than-pleasant terms, will pair up with ever-interesting sophomore GM Brodie Van Wagenen as the club does battle in a tough NL East.

Beltran, 42, had previously interviewed for the Yankees’ managerial opening that went to Aaron Boone. While he missed on that gig, Beltran joined the Bronx-based organization’s front office as a special advisor. That experience ended up functioning as a transition time for Beltran, who’ll now get back in uniform.

When last he donned Mets duds, Beltran was still a star-level performer. Though there were indications of sore feelings when he departed via trade in the middle of the 2011 season, things worked out well enough for the Queens denizens. Beltran hit well enough over the first half of that year — his final of a seven-season contract — to return a highly valuable player in the form of Zack Wheeler. While we likely won’t get the interesting optic of Beltran removing Wheeler from games — the righty is expected to receive a qualifying offer but decline it in favor of the open market — that swap still makes for an interesting reference point.

Beltran shouldn’t have any problems commanding respect in the clubhouse and with the media. He’s a rightly revered figure in the game and will likely check into Cooperstown during his time as the Mets skipper — so long as his tenure at the helm of the dugout is longer than that of his predecessor. Mickey Callaway came from quite a different place when he entered the gig, but did finish with a flourish over the final two-thirds or so of the 2019 campaign. That wasn’t enough to save his job.

The expectations will be lofty for Beltran’s debut campaign, at least within the organization. It’s postseason or bust for Van Wagenen and co., particularly after doubling down on the existing core slate of players at the 2019 trade deadline. It is difficult to fully assess the odds of the club cracking the postseason for the first time since 2016, given that we don’t yet know just what the roster will look like when camp breaks early next year. As we explored recently, the organization faces some obvious obstacles to improving the on-field product it will entrust to Beltran.

Sid Rosenberg of TalkRadio 77 WABC had the first word on Twitter. Anthony DiComo of MLB.com independently reported the news (via Twitter). Marly Rivera of ESPN (via Twitter) reported the deal structure, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today (Twitter link) covering the salary.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Mets Reportedly Narrow Managerial Search

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The Mets’ managerial search is down to two names, Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports (via Twitter). Former Mets outfielder Carlos Beltran and former Astros bench coach/current ESPN analyst Eduardo Perez are the last two men standing. MLB Network’s Jon Heyman recently tweeted that Milwaukee bench coach Pat Murphy was out of the running, though Heyman suggested shortly before Feinsand that Twins bench coach Derek Shelton was still involved alongside Beltran and Perez.

Neither Beltran nor Perez has any big league managerial experience, but Perez did manage a pair of winter ball clubs in Puerto Rico and managed Team Colombia in the 2013 World Baseball Classic. In addition to a brief stint as the bench coach in Houston, Perez spent a pair of seasons as the Marlins’ hitting coach earlier this decade. Beltran, who only retired as a player after the 2017 season, has spent his short post-playing days as a special advisor to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.

Hiring Perez would, in many ways, mimic the crosstown Yankees’ hiring of Aaron Boone and the Cubs’ recent hiring of David Ross. Both were retired players hired away from ESPN jobs, though Perez, unlike that duo, does have the aforementioned coaching/managing experience. Beltran, notably, would jump from player to manager even more quickly than Ross did — if he is indeed hired. Ross retired after winning a World Series in 2016, while Beltran retired after winning a World Series in 2017. Perez was reported by USA Today’s Bob Nightengale last week to be the “clear front-runner,” but the search then carried on into a third round of interviews.

The Mets’ managerial search has dragged out even longer than the GM search that led the organization to hire then-CAA-agent Brodie Van Wagenen late last October. While a whopping eight teams entered the offseason in search of a new skipper, most identified a smaller set of initial candidates than New York. The Mets, meanwhile, not only conducted first-round interviews with a wide slate of candidates, they also carried a significant list of hopefuls all the way into a third round of interviews. (Most other organizations seemingly only went through two rounds.) At least five candidates — Perez, Beltran, Shelton, Murphy and Nats first base coach Tim Bogar — seemingly advanced to this stage.

The Mets, Pirates and Giants are the three remaining clubs that have yet to name a manager for the 2020 season. The Angels (Joe Maddon), Phillies (Joe Girardi), Cubs (Ross), Royals (Mike Matheny) and Padres (Jayce Tingler) have all hired new skippers since the regular season ended.

Mets Holding Third Round Of Managerial Interviews

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The Mets are moving ahead with a third round of managerial interviews, as Andy Martino of SNY.tv reported last night. Somewhat surprisingly, the list hasn’t really been pared down much to this point.

In for a third interview are long-known candidates Carlos Beltran, Tim Bogar, and Derek Shelton. (Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted Shelton’s continued inclusion on Twitter.) Also still in the mix is Eduardo Perez, who was said to be a “clear frontrunner” just days ago but remains in a large group of possibilities.

Luis Rojas once seemed to have a solid shot at the gig, but he now appears to be out of the mix. But Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy has taken his place after flying under the radar earlier in the process. Murphy is still in the hunt as well.

Now that Murphy has been unveiled, is there still a mystery candidate lurking? Martino has continually cited that possibility, though MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo tweets that it seems the field has been set.

New York owner Fred Wilpon will meet with the five candidates — and, presumably, any others if they should be inserted into the process. Precisely how the decision will be made remains to be seen, though surely it’ll mostly come down to a discussion between Wilpon, COO Jeff Wilpon, GM Brodie Van Wagenen, and a few top advisors.

The timeline is likewise not yet evident; DiComo suggests that it may take a bit longer due to the fact that Bogar still has one or two games left to coach in the World Series. It doesn’t appear as if any of the Mets’ candidates are in active demand from other organizations, so the New York club can continue to take its time reaching a final decision.

Quick Hits: Mets, Tigers, Kieboom, Bettis

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Yesterday, MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo warned that the Mets were “not particularly close” to naming their next manager. The scribe noted that the club is still performing callback interviews in a hiring process that could stretch “well beyond this week” (link). That’s not an encouraging status report for a fanbase eager to see the club narrow a search field that at this point still includes six names in Joe Girardi, Eduardo Perez, Carlos Beltran, Mets quality control coach Luis Rojas, Nationals first base coach Tim Bogar and Twins bench coach Derek Shelton.

Though DiComo doesn’t have a dog in the fight, per se, Tuesday’s piece for MLB.com does give some support to the notion of Beltran getting behind the reins of a big league team (link). DiComo spoke with Astros shortstop Carlos Correa, who opined that Beltran will make an “amazing” manager after having the chance to work with Beltran when the latter was a player on Houston’s 2017 World Series team. “He’s going to help [a] club so much like he helped here in this clubhouse,” Correa told Beltran. “The atmosphere that he built and the chemistry in the clubhouse still lives on.”

  • Four players in the Tigers org were outrighted to the roster of the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens, according to the International League transactions page. The new Hens, lefty Nick Ramirez, righty Eduardo Jimenez, righty Zac Reininger, and outfielder Dustin Peterson, are not exactly household names, but Ramirez did make 46 largely serviceable long-relief appearances (4.08 ERA in 79.2 innings) for Detroit in 2019, and Peterson was a top-30 prospect with the Braves as recently as 2018. Reininger, meanwhile, has struggled in parts of three Detroit seasons (8.08 ERA/7.44 FIP in 59 career MLB innings), while Jimenez was only slightly better for the Tigers in his 2019 rookie debut (5.91 ERA/4.34 FIP in 10.2 innings).
  • Agent Trevor Kieboom has joined the ACES agency, according to a tweet from MLB journalist Robert Murray (link). Kieboom, a former player with Georgia’s collegiate team, will bring with him his clients/brothers Spencer and Carter, both of the Nationals, as well as Rangers minor league hurler Alex Speas, Royals lefty Richard Lovelady, Mets minor league pitcher Kevin Smith, and Reds rookie ball infielder Ivan Johnson. In a separate tweet, Murray also shares that Rockies pitcher Chad Bettis, formerly represented by Sosnick, Cobbe, and Karon, is now under the representation of CAA baseball (link).

Latest On Mets’ Managerial Search

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OCT. 22: Luis Rojas will also interview for a second time, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com tweets.

OCT. 20, 8:55pm: Tim Bogar is also getting a second interview, Ken Rosenthal reports (via Twitter).

7:50pm: Joe Girardi will also receive a second interview from the Mets, as per Ken Rosenthal (Twitter link).

7:33pm: The Mets are entering their second round of managerial interviews, with two names already scheduled for another meeting with team brass.  SNY’s Andy Martino reported yesterday that long-time Mets star Carlos Beltran was expected to get another interview, and Mike Puma of the New York Post writes that the Mets have indeed asked the Yankees for permission to speak with Beltran (who is a special advisor to the Yankees GM Brian Cashman).  Eduardo Perez, the former first baseman and current analyst for both ESPN and MLB Network Radio on Sirius XM, is also being asked back for a second interview, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports.

At least one more candidate is expected to join this next stage of the interview process, though the identity of the third person isn’t yet known.  Joe Girardi, Skip Schumaker, Derek Shelton, Luis Rojas, Tim Bogar, and Mike Bell are the other six candidates who have received interviews to date.  Martino also tweets that the Mets are still looking into some other candidates who have yet to be revealed.

Beltran and Perez aren’t under consideration for any of the other seven managerial openings around the game, though Beltran has said that he is only interested in managing in New York, to the point of turning down requests to interview with the Padres and Cubs.  Perez was interviewed by the Reds and Blue Jays about their managerial vacancies last offseason.  Though Beltran and Perez have 33 combined seasons of MLB playing experience between them, neither has managed at the big league level, which means the Mets would be following up Mickey Callaway’s short-lived tenure with another first-time skipper if either Beltran or Perez (or, in fact, any of the known candidates except Girardi) are hired.

Perez has been a manager in Puerto Rico and also managed Colombia’s team in the qualifying rounds for the 2013 World Baseball Classic.  Perez’s resume also include a stint as a special assistant in the Indians front office, as well as one season as the Astros bench coach in 2013 and roughly a season and a half as the Marlins’ hitting coach from 2011-12.

Beltran only hung up his spikes after the 2017 season, and after taking a year away from the sport, joined the Yankees’ front office as Cashman’s advisor.  Beltran came relatively close to becoming a New York manager two winters ago, as he was one of the six candidates interviewed by the Yankees for the position that eventually went to Aaron Boone.

Latest On Carlos Beltran

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Former star outfielder Carlos Beltran has emerged as a popular candidate in managerial searches around the league, though Beltran has only one particular destination in mind.  Speaking to reporters (including Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe and Newsday’s Anthony Rieber) today, Beltran said that he was only interested in managing in New York, to the point of turning down interview requests from other teams.  It was already known that Beltran declined to speak to the Padres about their managerial vacancy, and he revealed today that he had also passed on a chance to interview with the Cubs.

This leaves the Mets as Beltran’s only potential landing spot if he does indeed make a move into the dugout.  He reportedly interviewed for the position last Thursday, though he didn’t officially confirm this during today’s media session.  SNY’s Andy Martino notes that the lack of confirmation could have to do with the Mets “putting high priority on secrecy” during their managerial search (though several names have already been linked to the Mets job).

Though Beltran has long expressed an interest in continuing to work in baseball after hanging up his cleats, he has been particular about which opportunities he has pursued.  It’s clear that his particular interest in remaining in New York has influenced those decisions — beyond his current connection to the Mets’ job, Beltran interviewed for the Yankees’ managerial vacancy after the 2017 season that was eventually filled by Aaron Boone, and has spent the last year working as a special advisor in the Yankees’ front office.  Obviously, Beltran has longstanding ties to the Big Apple after playing for the Mets from 2005-11, and then for the Yankees in 2014-16.

Though Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein has indicated he would “have a greater comfort for someone” with past managerial experience, Beltran is one of several potential first-time managers who have been on the Cubs’ radar during their own search.  Mark Loretta, David Ross, and Will Venable have never managed at the Major League or minor league levels before, though the Cubs are also slated to meet with a very experienced former MLB skipper in Joe Girardi.

Mets Plan To Interview Carlos Beltran, Joe Girardi, Mike Bell

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Oct. 12: The Mets will interview Bell on Monday, according to a tweet from Jon Heyman of MLB Network (link).

Oct. 10: The Mets will interview Girardi next week, Andy Martino of SNY tweets.

Oct. 9: The Mets plan to hold in-person interviews with recently retired outfielder Carlos Beltran and Diamondbacks vice president of player development Mike Bell in their search for a new manager, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports (via Twitter). MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported earlier today that the Mets are conducting phone interviews with some candidates before committing to face-to-face sitdowns (Twitter link), adding that former Yankees skipper Joe Girardi is “sure” to be interviewed in person. Joel Sherman of the New York Post tweets that Bell’s interview is likely to take place next week. Other candidates are sure to emerge in the coming weeks.

Beltran, 42, is currently serving as a special advisor to Yankees general manager Brian Cashman, though he’s long been touted as a potential manager. The likely Hall of Famer reportedly interviewed with the Yankees prior to their hiring of Aaron Boone. He’s also said to have declined the opportunity to interview with the Padres this offseason, and it stands to reason that other clubs will have interest in sitting down with him.

Bell, 44, is the younger brother of Reds skipper David Bell. He’s currently in the same position with the Diamondbacks that his older brother was with the Giants prior to being hired away by the Cincinnati organization last winter. Bell interviewed with both the Rangers and the Orioles last offseason, and Rosenthal notes that the Pirates also have some interest in Bell. The 2019 season was Bell’s third in that role, but he’s previously served as the team’s director of player development in addition to three years as a minor league manager. In all, he’s been with the D-backs as a minor league skipper or a front office executive for 13 years.

The 54-year-old Girardi, of course, is no stranger to New Yorkers. He spent a decade at the helm with the Yankees and was the manager in the Bronx for the Yankees’ most recent World Series title back in 2009. He’s been clear about his desire to manage again recently and was set for an interview with the Cubs today. He’ll draw his share of interest from other clubs over the coming weeks and seems like a strong candidate to land back in a Major League dugout sooner rather than later. Since parting ways with the Yankees, he’s served as a television analyst on MLB Network.

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