On Thursday afternoon, Jeff Wilpon and Brodie Van Wagenen held a conference call with the media where they answered questions regarding the Carlos Beltran news. 

The call came after the Mets announced that they would be parting ways with their manager, Carlos Beltran. Here are five big takeaways from the presser. 

We Can’t Say

Jeff Wilpon wouldn’t say if Carlos Beltran will be paid out the remainder of his contract or if the Mets will arrange some sort of buyout. Wilpon did make sure to note that the Mets and Beltran agreed that him not continuing as manager was best for the team. 

Beltran was signed on with a three-year, ~3 million dollar deal with a 2023 club option. 

That’s Not How it Works

Jessica Mendoza, a member of the Mets front office, made comments regarding Mike Fiers revealing the Astros sign-stealing scheme on the ESPN show Golic and Wingo. Mendoza shared her frustration with Fiers and the fact that he brought the scandal to the light. According to Mendoza, who is both employed by the Mets and ESPN, Fiers only should have warned future teammates about the system, but not the league.

When asked about Mendoza’s comments, Brodie van Wagenen said that she was speaking as an ESPN analyst and not a member of the Mets organization. 

Won’t Work

Van Wagenen stated that after meeting with Beltran, they agreed it would be hard for Carlos to manage in the way he wanted. 

Van Wagenen stated “As we looked to our club, we have to think about distractions, we have to think more importantly about focus, we have to think about how we put ourselves in the best position to win going forward…. Looking backward is not productive for us.”

Everything Changed 

Jeff Wilpon commented on the fact that they had heard that Carlos was not going to face a suspension from MLB. It was not until the official report, which only mentions Beltran once, came out that the Mets started to question Beltran’s place with the team. 

“We heard from sources that Carlos was not going to be suspended. The change was, when the report did come out, how prominent he was in it.”

The original report from The Athletic regarding the Astros cheating came out in November, but the Mets never contacted Beltran directly to ask about what had happened in Houston. 

All Mets

When Jeff Wilpon was asked if MLB had any guidance on the decision, Jeff stated “absolutely not. They specifically said it was a club decision.”

Van Wagenen stated the Mets will not be sharing all of the details that led them to this point with the public and closed with this statement, “As we looked to our club, we have to think about distractions, we have to think more importantly about focus, we have to think about how we put ourselves in the best position to win going forward… Looking backward is not productive for us.”