Mets part ways with manager Carlos Beltran in wake of Astros cheating scandal

The Carlos Beltran era is over before it even began for the New York Mets.

With their new manager caught up in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, the club parted ways with Beltran, according to a person with knowledge of the situation.

The person spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity because the team had not yet announced its intentions.

Beltran is the third manager to be ousted in the wake of Major League Baseball’s investigation into the Astros.

On Monday, Houston fired manager A.J. Hinch and GM Jeff Luhnow hours after MLB handed down one-year suspensions. A day later, the Red Sox parted ways with skipper Alex Cora, the Astros’ bench coach in 2017.

MLB named Beltran — who was a player on the 2017 Astros — in its report released Monday. The league didn’t discipline any players, but Beltran was the only one identified in the report.

“Approximately two months into the 2017 season, a group of players, including Carlos Beltrán, discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter,” commissioner Rob Manfred wrote.

Beltran played 129 games for the Astros in 2017, the final season of his 20-year career. He went 3-for-20 in 10 postseason games, winning the World Series for the first time.

Beltran was introduced as the Mets’ manager on Nov. 4, eight days before an explosive story on The Athletic detailed the Astros’ electronic sign-stealing schemes with details provided by former Houston pitcher Mike Fiers.

Beltran interviewed for the Yankees’ managerial vacancy after the 2017 season, but the job ultimately went to Aaron Boone. A year later, the Yankees hired him as a special adviser to GM Brian Cashman.

Now, less than a month before spring training begins, the Mets are in search of a new manager.

Hensley Muelens, who was hired as the team’s bench coach this winter, has interviewed for multiple managerial jobs in recent years and is a strong in-house option. He spent the past 10 seasons with the San Francisco Giants, serving eight years as hitting coach and the last two as bench coach under Bruce Bochy.

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