HEADING HOME: Carlos Beltran, who talked with COO Jeff Wilpon at the batting cage before the game, takes a bat from umpire Laz Diaz after scoring a run in the seventh inning of the Mets’ 8-6 win over the Reds last night in Cincinnati. (Getty Images)
CINCINNATI — Jeff Wilpon’s appearance at Great American Ball Park yesterday may have signaled Carlos Beltran’s Mets career entering its final hours.
The Mets COO stood at the batting cage chatting with Beltran during pregame drills, as general manager Sandy Alderson stayed in New York, presumably still listening to offers for the All-Star right fielder. Beltran remains targeted by the Giants, Braves, Phillies, Rangers and Red Sox, among others, but said after the Mets’ 8-6 victory over the Reds that he still had no idea about his future.
One report suggested he had recently nixed a trade to the Indians, but Beltran said that wasn’t the case.
“They haven’t come to me,” Beltran said, referring to the Mets. “When they come to me, then we’ll talk about it.”
He clearly was at peace with the knowledge he would soon be wearing a different uniform.
“It’s exciting, but at the same time a little bit sad because I have a lot of friends on this team,” Beltran said. “I’ve been here seven years, so it’s hard to just turn the page and try to just let go of seven years just like that.
“It’s kind of like you have a lot of memories, a lot of guys we get along with well, and younger guys that you start getting along with them. At the same time you’ve got to move on. They’re going to move on. I’m going to move on. Everybody is going to move on.”
The Mets (52-51) won their second straight, getting a strong bullpen performance from Manny Acosta, Ryota Igarashi, Pedro Beato and Tim Byrdak, who combined to allow one run over four innings behind a wobbly Jon Niese. The lefty Byrdak got the final out for his first save of the season. Jason Pridie’s two-run double in the sixth put the Mets ahead for good.
Beltran, who finished 1-for-3 with two walks and an RBI single, said he has avoided listening to the daily trade rumors.
Beltran’s no-trade clause, coupled with the fact he is a 10/5 player (10 years of major league service and five with the same team), mean the Mets must obtain his approval before dealing him. Beltran’s main criterion is a chance to play for a postseason contender, but he also has indicated he would reject any trade that would make him a designated hitter.
As The Post reported yesterday, Beltran will not automatically veto a trade to an American League team.
“When they approach me and say, ‘Carlos, we have a deal, this is what is going to happen,’ I will listen to the deal and if it makes sense for both then we’ll move forward,” Beltran said. “Right now there are a lot of rumors out there. I haven’t heard from Sandy, I haven’t heard from [agent] Scott [Boras] so I’m here playing baseball.”
Beltran reminisced yesterday about the thrill of winning the NL East in 2006 and the heartbreak of collapses in 2007 and ’08 that cost the Mets chances to participate in the postseason.
“There have been good times, bad times a little bit of everything — a rollercoaster — but I feel all the years I’ve been here, I feel good [about them],” Beltran said. “In 2006, ’07, ’08 we had a great team. On paper we were like ‘wow’ good. But 2007 they just kicked us out in the last 14 games and in 2008 the same thing happened, so yeah, I’m a little bit disappointed about that.”