Reese Kaplan -- So What If Carlos Beltran Is Not the New Manager?

To hear most people picking up the popular narrative, Carlos Beltran is going to be the new manager in 2027.  There are certainly reasons why this selection could make sense.  He was once before hired to be a manager before the scandal of his Astros World Series appearance came to light and for purposes of public relations he was quickly asked to turn in his lineup pencil before he even got started.

Obviously Beltran has a solid Mets reputation and went into Cooperstown adorned with a Mets baseball cap.  That identity and Mets visibility follows what Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza did when they were inducted despite having played for other teams during their playing careers as well.  His seven years as a Met were far more good than bad and people generally count him as one of the rare good long term contracts the team offered up to anyone. 

There are some downsides to Beltran being the new skipper.  For one thing, he has no managerial experience.  While everyone indeed needs to start somewhere, it’s also a learning-on-the-job zeitgeist that often shows how green the new manager can be without several years at the helm previously.  We all saw eventually what happened when new managers like Luis Rojas and Carlos Mendoza hit the wall, though in Mendoza’s case it had as much to do with the poor roster he was given as his own growth.

So what if the Mets decide Beltran is not really the best choice despite the good public relations and instant recognition he would give the team if he took that role?  Or, what if Beltran decided he was not ready to suit up every day in the dugout, taking full responsibility for the success and failure of what his players do while on the field.  What do the Mets do then?

Oddly, interim manager Andy Green may be the temporary answer.  His years in San Diego were not exactly made of legendary performance, but everyone who knows the man extols both his knowledge and communication abilities.  With the great selloff having happened the Mets are suddenly starting to look like not quite the cellar dwellers they did under Mendoza.  He’s been working on the farm system since 2024 and some of the current players now on the big league roster like Carson Benge, A.J. Ewing, Zac Thornton, Nolan McLean and Christian Scott are all supporters of him at the helm. 

To a great many people the emergency fill in for Mendoza doesn’t carry the weight nor cache of new Hall of Famer Carlos Beltran.  His career managerial numbers are not outstanding and a quiet, knowledgeable guy in charge will not have the same public relations weight Beltran would.  It would, however, be an interesting plan B should the Beltran vision not happen from either side’s decision.  If indeed they need another managerial candidate does anyone else stand out as a superior option to Andy Green?  He knows the team’s majors and minors, he has real managerial experience and he would help bring some continuity over into the 2027 season.