Beltran All but Gone to the Giants

CINCINNATI — Carlos Beltran’s jersey was still on view Wednesday afternoon in the same corner stall where it had been all week at Great American Ballpark, a lingering reminder of what was and no longer is.

Beltran, himself, was not around the Mets’ clubhouse. He is about to become a San Francisco Giant in exchange for the right-handed pitching prospect Zack Wheeler. The trade, which is still awaiting final clearance from Major League Baseball, concludes Beltran’s six-and-a-half-year run in New York, which is ending up more bittersweet than triumphant, with only one postseason appearance by the Mets and no championship ring.
At the end, Beltran’s jersey was an artifact and a stark signal to his teammates that the remainder of the 2011 season, without Beltran in the lineup, will probably be a struggle.
“It’s going to be weird to look over there and not see that No. 15,” said David Wright, who dressed on Wednesday just feet from Beltran’s locker and will now have to fend for himself without Beltran beside him in the lineup.
Because Beltran is in the final season of a seven-year deal, and the Mets are not realistically in contention for a playoff spot, it had become a foregone conclusion that he would be traded before Sunday’s nonwaiver trading deadline.
Still, it was a bracing moment for his teammates when they gathered in the clubhouse before Wednesday’s game and were confronted with the fact that a deal was basically done.
“For me, personally, it’s a sad day because I love Carlos,” said R. A. Dickey, who has known Beltran for over a decade. “He’s a very complete individual, not only on the field, but off. That’s a valuable piece that we’re losing and it’s kind of sad.”
Manager Terry Collins said, “This is a situation that everyone’s anticipated, whether we liked it or not.”
Beltran’s teammates and members of the Mets’ staff were increasingly convinced in recent days that Beltran was headed to San Francisco, in part because the pitching-strong Giants need to bolster their offense in pursuit of a second straight World Series championship and in part because Beltran seemed intrigued about playing there.
And where Beltran wanted to play was important because he had a full no-trade clause in his contract, providing him the right to veto any deal.
The news of the pending deal did not leak out until Wednesday afternoon. But Beltran may have had advance knowledge that it was about to happen because he took the entire team out to dinner on Tuesday night at a Cincinnati steakhouse after the Mets’ second straight victory over the Reds.
Jose Reyes said he teased Beltran at dinner, saying that Beltran already knew what team he was being traded to. But he said Beltran denied that was so.
The deal is designed to help the Mets a year or two from now, and if nothing else, it frees Collins from answering the same questions over and over again about Beltran’s unresolved status, which the manager acknowledged had created some exasperation in the clubhouse.
Still, Beltran’s departure stands as a signal of submission by the Mets, who have overachieved this season despite a limited roster and an onslaught of injuries. Nevertheless they are a daunting 12 ½ games behind Philadelphia in the National League East and 7 ½ games in back of the Atlanta Braves in the wild-card race.
Mets players on Wednesday echoed the same sentiment: they would not surrender their season, however bleak the outlook becomes over the final two months. But they seemed equally unified in their realism regarding what the deal meant to the team.
“We’re not mailing it in by any stretch of the imagination,” Dickey said. “But obviously, this will make it harder than it was before. That’s the truth.”