Yankees Will Not Reunite with Carlos Beltran This Offseason

Free agent designated hitter Carlos Beltran has decided on his new club, but it will not be the New York Yankees as many fans had hoped.

On Saturday afternoon, Mark Feinsand of the New York Daily News first reported that free agent slugger Carlos Beltran had officially chosen his new team, but it will not be the New York Yankees. Buster Olney of ESPN subsequently revealed that Beltran would be rejoining another former organization of his where he’d found considerable success, the Houston Astros.

The last time the veteran hit free agency, prior to the 2014 season, he signed a three year $45 million contract with New York. All things considered, Beltran’s three seasons in the Bronx went pretty well. He finished his tenure with a .270/.327/.470 slash line with 56 home runs and 180 RBI in 1367 plate appearances.

Last season, Beltran was easily the club’s best hitter in the first half, batting .304/.344/.546 with 22 home runs and 64 RBI before the August 1st trade deadline, when he was shipped to the Texas Rangers for three minor league pitchers, including the fourth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Dillon Tate.

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Notably, Beltran finished as the Yankees 2016 leader in home runs even though he played the last two months of the season elsewhere. Beltran’s willingness to accept a one-year pact this winter would have made him a perfect fit for the rebuilding Yanks, who have a ton of emerging position player talent that they do not want to block long-term.

Instead, Beltran will join his former Yankees teammate Brian McCann with the ‘Stros, who appear to be loading up for a serious championship run in 2017 after a disappointing 2016 campaign.

New York has reportedly been monitoring the markets of all of the available DH-type bats. They’ve been connected at various points to Beltran, Edwin Encarnacion, Matt Holliday, Brandon Moss, Mike Napoli, and Chris Carter.

Next: Predicting the Yankees' Moves at the Winter Meetings

Ultimately, while Beltran would have been a fine fit on a one-year deal, I’m glad the Yankees will bring in some new blood. We saw all too recently how quickly 40+ year old sluggers can fall off a cliff, and I’d rather not relive last year’s ordeal of watching Alex Rodriguez and Mark Teixeira limp around on a daily basis.