Alex Cora’s Mets future could be tied to legend: ‘They are extremely ... close’

You can’t talk about Alex Cora and the Mets without talking about Carlos Beltran. And after listening to the latest episode of “Speaking of the Mets,” that point has never been clearer.

On Tuesday, MassLive’s Chris Cotillo explained just how intertwined these two men remain — and what that means for any team, particularly the Mets, that has interest in Cora as a managerial candidate.

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“Any Alex Cora Mets flirtation or talk or anything related, Carlos Beltran is going to be a huge, huge piece of that and whatever form that takes,” Cotillo told NJ.com’s Max Goodman. “They are extremely, extremely close.”

Beltran and Cora were both central figures in the Houston Astros sign-stealing scandal that rocked baseball in 2017.

The fallout was severe. Cora was suspended for the 2020 season. Beltran, who had just been hired as Mets manager, never managed a single game before the organization parted ways with him.

They both paid steep prices. And according to Cotillo, they’ve both spent the years since with something to prove.

“They both are in the something to prove club after, you know, what happened,” Cotillo said. “Obviously Mets fans know better than anybody about, you know, him losing his job there because of the scandal that was him and Cora.”

For Mets fans, Beltran’s name is permanently tied to that moment — a heartbreaking footnote to an otherwise legendary career in Queens. He never got his shot. And there’s a real question hanging in the air: Does he want one?

Cotillo didn’t just note that the two men are close — he suggested their bond is tight enough to potentially influence major career decisions.