It looks like Carlos Beltrán’s No. 15 will soon join the other retired numbers displayed above the left-field promenade at Citi Field.
According to Mike Puma, the New York Mets plan to hold a ceremony later this season to officially retire the former center fielder’s number.
Beltrán was initially slated to be inducted into the team’s Hall of Fame alongside Lee Mazzilli and Bobby Valentine during the May 30 ceremony, but he is no longer part of that event.
Earlier this year, Beltrán was formally inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in his fourth year on the ballot, earning 84.2% of the vote.
It was later confirmed that he would be depicted wearing a Mets cap on his plaque, making him only the third player to enter Cooperstown with a Mets hat, joining franchise icons Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza.
Previously, under the Wilpons’ ownership, entering the Hall of Fame wearing a Mets cap was often considered a prerequisite for having one’s number retired, but owner Steve Cohen has recently accelerated efforts to honor the franchise’s legends.
Beltrán is widely regarded as one of the most complete players in Mets history, excelling offensively and defensively during his tenure in Queens.
After signing a seven-year, $119 million contract before the 2005 season, he totaled 149 home runs, 551 runs scored, and 559 RBIs while slashing .280/.369/.500 with a 127 wRC+ and 29.3 fWAR across 848 games.
Though he struggled in his first year, he bounced back in 2006 with a 7.2 fWAR season, hitting .275/.388/.594 with 41 homers, 127 runs, 116 RBIs, a 148 wRC+, and earning his first of three consecutive Gold Gloves, two straight Silver Sluggers, and one of his five All-Star appearances as a Met.
Despite this, some fans unfairly remember him for striking out on three pitches against Adam Wainwright in Game 7 of the 2006 NLCS—his final postseason moment with New York—though he had hit three homers in that series.
Beltrán ranks among the franchise’s all-time leaders in numerous categories: third in WAR (31.2) among position players, fourth in OPS (.869), sixth in OBP (.369) and SLG (.500), seventh in home runs (149), doubles (208), and RBIs (559), and tenth in walks (449) and runs scored (551).
His combination of offensive production and elite defense at a premium position cements his status as one of the Mets’ greatest players. Similar to David Wright, the team appears poised to pair his Hall of Fame induction with his number retirement in a single celebration.
Beltrán’s No. 15 will be the fourth number retired in the past three years and the seventh since Cohen purchased the team, joining Jerry Koosman’s 36 (2021), Keith Hernandez’s 17 (2022), Willie Mays’ 24 (2002, during Old Timers’ Day), Dwight Gooden’s 16 (2024), Darryl Strawberry’s 18 (2024), and David Wright’s 5 (2025).
