Beltrán not disciplined in MLB investigation
NEW YORK -- Despite his name appearing in Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing practices, Mets manager Carlos Beltrán will not face suspension or any other discipline for his involvement.
Beltrán, an outfielder/designated hitter on the 2017 Astros, was among those who “discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter,” according to MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred. That was Beltrán’s only appearance in Manfred’s nine-page report, which limited individual punishments to Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, manager AJ Hinch, and former assistant GM Brandon Taubman.
• Read MLB's official findings (pdf)
“Assessing discipline of players for this type of conduct is both difficult and impractical,” Manfred wrote. “It is difficult because virtually all of the Astros’ players had some involvement or knowledge of the scheme, and I am not in a position based on the investigative record to determine with any degree of certainty every player who should be held accountable, or their relative degree of culpability. It is impractical given the large number of players involved, and the fact that many of those players now play for other Clubs.”
Luhnow and Hinch both received one-year suspensions and were subsequently dismissed by Astros owner Jim Crane on Monday afternoon. MLB also fined the Astros $5 million and docked them their first- and second-round picks in the next two Drafts.
A Mets spokesman said Monday that the team would have no comment on MLB’s decision. Beltrán did not respond to a message seeking comment.
Prior to spending the 2017 season with the Astros, in which he won the only World Series title of his 20-year playing career, Beltrán played 90 games for Houston in 2004 after arriving in a midseason trade with the Royals. He signed a seven-year deal with the Mets the following offseason, and he bounced to five other organizations in his final seven seasons before his retirement as a player.