Carlos Beltrán bolts Yankees and YES Network for second chance with Mets

One year after the New York Yankees facilitated Carlos Beltrán's return to professional baseball with a seat in their booth, he appears ready to shake hands and forgive the organization that burned him three years prior.

Just before the pandemic helped dismantle structures across all sectors and render previous grudges irrelevant, Beltrán found himself in the crosshairs of Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal's reporting about the Houston Astros' sign-stealing scandal. He was the only player named, given his status as a recently-retired slugger. Unfortunately, he was attempting to join the managerial ranks at the time, having been named the Mets' skipper a few weeks prior.

Much like "fellow" managers AJ Hinch and Alex Cora, he lost his job in the wake of the revelations. Hinch and Cora both cakewalked back to positions the following year; Beltrán and his keen eye for player evaluation were left in the lurch.

Seeing an opportunity, the Yankees scooped him up to commentate prior to the 2022 season. Unfortunately, he was a bit ... unseasoned, leaving the booth for a studio job midway through the campaign but still failing to click with the audience.

Therefore, it makes all the sense in the world that he's heading to the other side of things this offseason, choosing to bring his expertise to an MLB front office. The only surprising wrench in the plan? He's joining the Mets, who apparently felt ready to un-burn the bridge under Steve Cohen.

New York Yankees announcer Carlos Beltrán leaves YES Network for Mets

No specifics are known yet regarding Beltrán's role under GM Billy Eppler with the Mets, but Andrew Marchand recently reported that the Yankees still viewed Beltran as a pre-and-postgame option and not so much a color commentator.

Therefore, the better path (and better use of his skills) is likely within the Mets' pipeline.

Now, there's only one more shot at redemption that Beltrán must check off: a Baseball Hall of Fame spot. It's likely voters will follow the Mets' lead and end his short "punishment" on the second ballot next winter.

Best of luck, Carlos. We'll always have the time you almost, kind of, sort of leaked an Aaron Judge extension last spring and sent us into almost a year's worth of purgatory.