Five Reasons Met Fans Should Be Worried About Carlos Beltran's Shift
Many are praising Carlos Beltran for agreeing to shift to right field in order to let Angel Pagan play center field.
While this is certainly a selfless act, this shift raises red flags concerning Beltran’s knee, his ability to contribute this season, and the Mets future.
Here are five thoughts on the Beltran shift.
1. What’s the Difference Between This Season and Last?
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Last year when Beltran returned from his knee injury, Pagan shifted to right field despite clearly being more mobile and the better fielder.
Where was Beltran’s willingness to shift to right field then?
I’m not trying to criticize Beltran because I appreciate players who refuse to let injuries keep them from doing their job. However, is this shift a sign that the health of Beltran’s knee is worse than is publicly known?
Ten days ago Pagan was quoted as saying, “If Carlos is healthy, he’ll be the center fielder. No doubt about that”. Yet today Beltran went to Terry Collins on his own accord, and now he is not the center fielder.
So, how injured is Carlos Beltran?
2. Is Beltran Healthy?
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Just ten days ago, reports were filing in that Beltran was in great shape and feeling healthier than at any point last year. He had even managed to shed the knee brace that haunted him last year, and things were looking up.
Now Beltran is concerned about preserving his health and admits that he cannot run up to full speed and sometimes feels “weak and tight” after training.
This does not exactly sound like a player who is ready to be the impact bat that the Mets need him to be.
3. How Will This Affect the Mets Defense?
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Shifting from center field to right field might ease the burden on Beltran’s knee, but his new position is going to be far from a cakewalk.
Right field at Citi Field is extremely complicated, and he will need to learn on the fly while trying to figure out how to man a position he has only played three times before.
As any outfielder can tell you, reading how the ball comes off the bat is very different in right field than in center field, and this could cause problems for Beltran. In addition, having two center fielders is not always better.
Just look at what happened the last time the Mets tried this with Beltran and Mike Cameron.
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4. How Will This Affect the Mets Offense?
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If Beltran’s knee is as injured as I believe it is, this could be a huge hit to the Mets offense.
In order to have any hope of competing this year, the Mets need Beltran to be the multi-tool offensive threat they signed him to be. Already his speed is pretty much gone and expecting anything more than ten steals is foolish.
If his knee is hurt at all it will be hard for him to flash any of the power that Met fans are used to. We saw what an injured Carlos Beltran was capable of last year, and it was not much—.255 average, seven homers, and 27 RBIs in 220 at bats.
The Mets will be hard-pressed to compete with Beltran producing numbers like those.
5. How Does This Affect the Mets Future?
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Beltran is currently in the last year of his contract that he signed with the Mets before the 2005 season.
If the Mets fall out of contention, he might become a desired trade commodity that would give the Mets the opportunity to continue replenishing their farm system or pick up pieces that can help their major league team going forward.
However, the chance of this occurring is directly related to how well Beltran performs before the trading deadline. If Beltran can perform at a fairly high level then the Mets should be able to get something useful in return. But if his knee limits his production then the Mets will have to either settle for a less appealing package or decide to keep him and address his situation at the end of the season.
Either way, it is clear that Beltran’s knee will play a key role in the Mets’ future.
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