Ex-Yankees, Mets star making big impact at spring training

Carlos Beltran is back with the New York Mets, and Tuesday was his first day as special assistant to general manager Billy Eppler.

As spring training gets going in Port St. Lucie, Fla., Beltran’s presence is reportedly impactful.

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“Beltran is beloved among players, staff, anyone’s he’s worked with, as a mentor, as a teacher, as someone who really cares and knows about this game. This is good for the Mets too, because Eppler needed someone in his inner circle who had that kind of field experience, and could communicate really well with players. The Mets have done really well to add analytics and data to their front office, but they have needed a voice like Beltran’s. It was a perfect convergence of an iconic player, and a franchise that’s now hoping to become more iconic, coming together at the right time for a partnership.”

Beltran does have , working as special assistant to New York Yankees general manager Brian Cashman in 2019. That was the same year the Mets hired Beltran as manager, only to have to fire him amid the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.

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Beltran was a nine-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove Award winner during his 20-year MLB career. He finished with 2,725 career base hits and two Silver Slugger Awards. He played for the Mets from 2005 to 2011 and theYankees from 2014 to 2016.