Imagine if the Mets and Carlos Beltran tried to ride out his part in the Houston Astros’ sign-stealing scandal.
His tenure as manager of the team would begin with a news conference in which he not only would have to account for being a mastermind in the team’s systematic cheating, but also have to answer detailed questions about his misuse of technology, such as why he didn’t stop when warned, what he did in the 2017 World Series, and when his unethical espionage began. (In the first three seasons with replay monitors near the dugout, 2014-16, Beltran played for the New York Yankees.