Carlos Beltran has emerged as an intriguing candidate to be a YES game analyst, The Post has learned.
Beltran is part of a group of analysts that YES is considering resuming games this season, provided, of course, there is a season.
YES Network has games to fill with David Cone expanding his national profile and Ken Singleton retiring. Cone will be one of the weekly games analysts on ESPN’s “Sunday Night Baseball.” Cone is now expected to play 55-60 Yankees games this coming season. Cone called 90 games last year without traveling, but in a normal season he made about 70 games.
Singleton had a limited schedule in his final seasons on YES, but overall a number of opportunities were created.
Although Beltran is a fascinating potential pick due to his firing as Mets manager due to his involvement in the Astros cheating scandal, he’s not alone. YES is also interested in Cameron Maybin, Jeff Nelson and, already internally, John Flaherty, sources say.
YES declined to comment, while Beltran did not immediately return a message.
YES will return Michael Kay as the main player, supported by Ryan Ruocco. Paul O’Neill is also expected to return to his normal schedule.
YES President of Programming and Production Jon Filippelli is leading the search, which, as with all teams, is coordinated with the Yankees. Filippelli is the one who championed Cone’s rise.
Beltran is an inspired candidate on many levels. First and foremost, it would probably be excellent. As a player, especially later in his career, he gave insightful answers to questions from reporters. It would probably only expand as an analyst. So it makes a lot of sense for YES.
As for Beltran, he was the only player to be disciplined in the Astros cheating scandal that Major League Baseball in its findings described as “player-driven.” Despite not being sanctioned by the commissioner’s office, Beltran lost his job as Mets manager before he even took the field in early 2020.
AJ Hinch, the Astros’ manager in 2017, and his bench coach, Alex Cora, were both suspended for a year, but have since returned as managers. General manager Jeff Luhnow was suspended and did not receive a second chance in the game.
Beltran, a potential Hall of Famer, has always been popular around the game. He had a huge reputation before the Astros scandal. He served as an advocate for other players, helping to make it mandatory for every team to have a Spanish translator, as it was customary for Japanese players to have someone hired to help them overcome the language barrier.
For Beltran, if he wants to get back into the game, that would be a good start. Fans would probably like his extensive knowledge, and it could be a first step if he wants to be hired as a manager or in a front office in the future.
Clicker Book Club
Papa Clicker, my father, Herb Marchand, called Chris Herring’s “Blood in the Garden, The Flagrant History of the 1990s New York Knicks” a great read. Although those famous Knicks teams led by Patrick Ewing never won a title, this book is a winner. It receives 4.6 out of 5 clicks, receiving the edge of another highly rated book on the subject, “Knicks of the Nineties”, which received a 4.45 from our resident book reviewer.
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