Carlos Beltran is taking a Giant leap to first place, and the Mets are a building block closer to future success.
After weeks of trade discussions involving Beltran, the Mets yesterday agreed to send the best hitter available in this trade market and $4 million to the Giants for top pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, multiple sources told The Post.
The deal will not become official until today because there is a 24-hour grace period for players with 10-and-5 rights (10 years major league service, five with the same team), in case the player decides he wants to rescind the trade. However, Beltran has made it clear he would forgo his no-trade rights to go to his priority destination, which is the Giants.
Beltran was held out of the Mets’ starting lineup against the Reds last night and left the ballpark before game time. He likely will make his debut for the Giants tonight in Philadelphia.
Wheeler, a 21-year-old righty, was the No. 6 pick in the 2009 draft by the Giants. In 13 starts this year for Single-A San Jose, he was 7-5 with a 3.99 ERA. In its midseason rankings, Baseball America had Wheeler as the majors’ 35th-best prospect.
The Rangers, Phillies, Braves and Red Sox were the other serious suitors for Beltran, with Milwaukee also showing interest until the end. Beltran’s preference from the start was to remain in the NL, and he made it clear he would under no circumstance approve a deal that involved becoming a designated hitter in the AL. He favored the Giants, had the Phillies as a second choice and it probably would have taken major convincing for him to accept a deal anywhere else.
Beltran, who signed a seven-year contract with the Mets worth $119 million before the 2005 season, still is owed about $6 million for this season. The Mets will pay $4 million of that remaining salary. But it was clear that Mets general manager Sandy Alderson’s priority was to get an elite prospect, even if it meant eating a lot of money and not getting any other pieces in the trade.
The Giants, with catcher Buster Posey out for the season, were willing to give up a high-end youngster to bolster an iffy lineup in their quest for a repeat championship.
The Mets are now left with a void in the lineup as they attempt to regroup and remain relevant in the NL wild-card race. They began last night’s play 71⁄2 games behind Atlanta.
“There are two different impacts,” David Wright said of the trade. “The first impact is the offense took a shot. The big picture is there is a plan in place and the front office is sticking to that plan, and you can’t doubt them. Obviously, this is not going to help us in the immediate future, but down the road it will.”
Manager Terry Collins indicated he likely will address his team today, after the trade becomes official. Beltran was batting .289 with 15 home runs and 66 RBIs and became the glue to the Mets’ lineup this season. He also had a seamless transition to right field from center.
Collins said his players had plenty of time to prepare for yesterday’s news.
“This is just a situation that everybody has anticipated, whether we liked it or not,” Collins said. “We knew it was going to happen. We talked about it for the last 10 days about being able to make sure our approach remains the same.”
Though Collins said it didn’t matter to him where Beltran landed in a trade, there was a sense of relief in the clubhouse he didn’t remain in the NL East, playing for the Phillies or Braves.
“What consolation there is, it’s a good one,” R.A. Dickey said. “I don’t want to face him.”
Dickey would like to think Beltran, a free agent after this season, has a good chance of staying with the Giants beyond 2011. Better the Giants, he says, than the Phillies or Braves.
“You’ve got to believe the people that went after him have some strategic plan for keeping him with their team, post this season,” Dickey said. “So if they are able to make that deal for him, over what the course of his next contract will be, I’m glad it’s not in the NL East.”