The Carlos Beltran Solution

Carlos Beltran is a beast. Specifically he's a beast if you put him on a team that's playing in the post-season. He's been a great player over his whole career, mind you, putting up a .283/.359/.496 batting line while playing a great center field (until recently) and adding excellent base running. But in the playoffs... well, today he was 2 for 3 with a walk, a home run, and (all) three runs driven in, and before that game he had a career .353/.456/.774 batting line in October baseball. That includes his insane 2004 with the Astros, when he hit .400, got on base over half the time, and slugged greater than 1. It includes his 2006 with the Mets, when he had a .500 on-base percentage in their NLCS win over the Dodgers and when he hit .296 with a .387 OBP and cranked three home runs. He also struck out five times, one of which... yeah, anyway. It includes last year with the Cardinals, when he had another .400/.500/.900 NLDS (and that's AVG/OBP/SLG, not OBP/SLG/OPS, heh) and then hit another home run and slugged .600 in the NLCS. It includes a mammoth home run he hit in Game 1 of the series against the Pirates this year, which tied him with Babe freakin' Ruth for career post-season home runs (though they don't hold the record, not by a long shot), and tomorrow it will include his great game from earlier today. Carlos Beltran is insane in the post-season.

He's also a free agent. A free agent outfielder, that is, who would provide a lot of what the Mets could use in 2014, namely a seriously threatening hitter. Sure his range has diminished beyond recognition as his knees have deteriorated with age, but he's still fearsome and, well, you see what he does if you can sneak into the post-season. Besides, he's a former Met, he's a beloved former Met, and bringing him back, perhaps to finish his career, would make it a shoe-in that he'll go into the Hall of Fame as a Met. (And I think this month is cementing his place in the Hall.) Interestingly both he and the team seem to be open to it. It's tough to know what Beltran is thinking, whether he's specifically interested in returning to the team that used two months of his services to snag a top prospect in an absurdly justified trade or whether he's just going to listen to all offers. But analyzing the Mets' thinking is perhaps easier. His offense is clearly in great shape, and would fill one of the holes in the Mets' lineup. His defense may not be that much of a concern with this guy patrolling center field. But there's reason to think that he just may not be able to play the outfield every day any more. Are you signing him to be a part-time player? Might he be better served going to an American League team where he could split time between the outfield and being the DH?

Well, it seems to me that a star outfielder who can't quite play every day would be a peculiarly good for for the Mets in 2014 and the immediate future. I can't speak to whether it would be best for Beltran, but the Mets are currently blessed with an uncommonly large number of outfielders under their control who seem like they could be valuable pieces but who are almost certainly not everyday players, at least not on a good team. I'm thinking of Eric Young, Jr., who just lead the National League in stolen bases but has a career .325 on-base percentage and .338 slugging percentage having spent most of his career playing his home games at Coors Field, and of Matt den Dekker, a defensive whiz perhaps on par with Lagares but whose difficulties not striking out may prevent him from hitting at the Major League level. Setting aside the question of left field for the moment, suppose the Mets signed Beltran to be their starting right fielder, but discovered that two or three games out of seven he needed not to be that. Perhaps he would need to sit on the bench, or to play first base, but not to play the outfield for a full nine innings. Well, stick den Dekker in center field and Lagares in right field. Or maybe the other way around. Maybe Matt would also be used to replace Carlos's defense with something resembling what he was once capable of. It could be a neat synergy between an aging star's need to be a part-time player and a young player's need not to be anything more than a part-time player. If the Mets wanted to be genuinely aggressive in acquiring players they could also sign Shin-Soo Choo to play left field, giving them a top of the order featuring Choo, Beltran, and Wright. Or maybe EYJ is actually good enough to be a leadoff hitter, if given the chance. Whatever they do with the other spot in their outfield, though, I think Carlos Beltran would be a uniquely good fit for the Opening Day right field spot in 2014.