Former big-leaguer Mark Teixeira believes the New York Mets should fire Carlos Beltrán due to his involvement in the sign-stealing scandal.
This week, harsh sanctions came down on the Houston Astros due to the organization stealing signs in both 2017 and 2018. The MLB decided to suspend general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch for one year. Shortly after the suspension was announced, Astros owner Jim Crane decided to relieve both staff members of their duties completely.
On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox also decided to take action by firing manager Alex Cora. The World Series-winning skipper was the Astros bench coach during the 2017 season and had potentially harsher sanctions on the way. This now leaves the New York Mets, who have a tough decision to make with newly-hired manager Carlos Beltrán. The MLB named the then-player in their report regarding the scandal. Thus, New York may also relieve Beltrán of his duties before he manages a single game.
Ultimately, if it were up to former player and current analyst Mark Teixeira, Beltrán would be shown the door.
“I don’t think the Mets have a choice, either. They have to fire Carlos Beltrán,” Teixeira said on ESPN’s “Get Up!,” per Justin Tasch of the New York Post. “The only reason Beltrán wasn’t punished as a bigger part of this was because of that immunity…it’s really a loophole for Carlos Beltrán because he retired immediately after that World Series.”
The Mets named Beltrán their new manager in early November. The MLB announced on Nov. 19 that they would conduct an investigation into the then-alleged sign-stealing.
Teixeira believes that if Cora has to experience a punishment, Beltrán should go down with the ship as well.
“Now this is a guy who, him and Alex Cora were the main culprits. Alex Cora got fired on the spot by the Boston Red Sox,” Teixeira said. “The New York Mets are in an impossible situation. There’s no way Carlos Beltrán – especially in the pressure cooker of New York – there’s no way he can be the manager of the Mets.
“So I think it’s a tough spot for Brodie Van Wagenen and the Mets front office that, here we spent all this time trying to find our guy, a really great baseball mind, and Beltrán is that. He’s also a guy who cheated in the worst possible way during a World Series run. You cannot have that guy lead your team. The New York papers…will eat up Carlos Beltrán every single day until he’s fired.”
For the time being, Beltrán is still the team’s manager. Nonetheless, everything can change in a matter of seconds. Mets fans will surely be on their toes until an organizational decision is complete.
