Mets hire new manager Luis Rojas in wake of Astros sign-stealing scandal
The New York Mets have named Luis Rojas as the team’s new manager.
Rojas takes over for Carlos Beltran, whose short managerial stint with Mets ended last week after he stepped down for his involvement in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal.
Rojas has been a part of the Mets organization for 14 years — serving as a minor league coach for eight of those years. This past season Rojas served as the Mets’ quality control coach.
In a statement, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon said, “Luis managed many of our current players during his time in our organization. He is fully prepared for this exciting opportunity.”
Rojas is the son of Felipe Alou and brother of Moises Alou — both of whom had stellar MLB careers.
Rojas will be introduced to the media Friday afternoon.
Beltran and Mets agreed to part ways
Beltran became the third big league manager out of a job because of the scandal.
“At a meeting this morning with Jeff and Brodie we mutually agreed to part ways,” Beltran said in a statement last week.
“I’m grateful to them for giving me the opportunity, but we agreed this decision is in the best interest of the team. I couldn’t let myself be a distraction for the team. I wish the entire organization success in the future.”
Beltran, 42, was named manager of the Mets in November, agreeing to terms on a three-year contract with a club option for a fourth year.
A key figure in the sign-stealing scandal, Alex Cora, who led the Red Sox to a World Series title in 2018 as manager and was the Astros’ bench coach in 2017, “mutually agreed to part ways” with Boston.
Major League Baseball found the Astros illegally created a system that decoded and communicated the opposing teams’ pitching signs during their 2017 championship season. As a result, Astros manager AJ Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow were fired.
Beltran, the only Astros player named in scandal, was an outfielder and designated hitter for Houston in 2017. The mention of his name in the MLB report was brief — on the second of nine pages.
“Approximately two months into the 2017 season, a group of players, including Carlos Beltran, discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter,” the commissioner wrote.
Beltran denied wrongdoing in the sign-stealing scheme in a November story in The Athletic.
“We took a lot of pride studying pitchers in the computer — that is the only technology that I use and I understand,” Beltran told The Athletic. “It was fun seeing guys get to the ballpark to look for little details.
