Morning Briefing: Buck Showalter Comments on Carlos Beltrán Hiring

Good morning, Mets fans!

Tim Healey of Newsday captured Buck Showalter‘s response to the Mets hiring Carlos Beltrán as a special assistant to Billy Eppler: “That’s a great addition for us. … As much as Carlos is willing to do (regarding on-field instruction), I’ll take him.” Beltran was selected for nine All-Star games, won three Gold Gloves, and earned two Silver Slugger awards during his career, so Showalter and the Mets will hope that his highly successful career as a player will translate to success in his new front office role.

Now, it is time for the morning briefing.

Latest Mets News

Brett Baty was asked on SNY (via Yahoo) about his relationship with Francisco Álvarez: “He’s one of my best friends even though we don’t speak the same language. It’s super fun to be around him right now.”

Up to 12 Mets could be participating in the World Baseball Classic. The finalized roster will be released tonight. However, Ross Bentley reports that Showalter is somewhat concerned with his players playing in the event, saying, “We are excited and proud that they are going, but they can’t come back and be way behind.”

Howie Rose interviewed Steve Cohen. Click here for the full interview. Michael Mayer has a summary of the interview.

The Thurman Munson Awards are given to professional and Olympic athletes in recognition of their athletic achievements and contributions to the community. Brandon Nimmo and Showalter were honored at the event on Tuesday night.

Anthony Franco of MLB Trade Rumors writes about Pete Alonso as an extension candidate for the Mets.

Michael Mayer reports that former Cardinals outfielder Shane Robinson will be the Mets minor league outfield/base running coordinator this season. Robinson spent the 2022 season as a bench coach in the Padres farm system after retiring as a player in 2021.

Latest MLB News

Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that the Marlins have spoken to Terry Collins about a possible consultant’s role within the organization. Collins and Marlins general manager Kim Ng worked together with the Dodgers.

Justin Toscano of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Ronald Acuña Jr. will play for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic. The decision was made Wednesday. The Braves feel comfortable because they will monitor Acuña’s knee for a few weeks in camp before he joins his country.

Mark Feinsand of MLB.com polled MLB executives on which signings were the best in terms of value and fit for the club. For the Mets, Edwin Díaz, Kodai Senga, and Justin Verlander each got a vote.

Nick Pollack of Pitcher List announced the launch of PL8, which includes New mobile design, MLB Percentiles for every stat, PLV metrics on player pages, PL Pro fantasy tools, Custom Article Feed, Usage/MPH arrows, and In Game Log.