Category: MLB

Now that Mets legend Carlos Beltran was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, the next decision is which cap he plans to don on his plaque.

Beltran played for seven different teams through his 20-year career, but the switch-hitting slugger pinpointed the Mets and the Royals as the two teams he must choose between.

“There’s no doubt there are two teams: the Kansas City Royals and the New York Mets,” Beltran said in an interview with MLB Network. “That’s a decision that I would love to sit down with my wife, kids and make that decision. I do really enjoy my time in New York. Now I work as an advisor for the Mets, so there’s a lot of weight wearing the New York cap.”

Beltran was drafted by the Royals in the 1995 draft and spent parts of the first seven seasons in Kansas City, winning Rookie of the Year honors in 1999. During that time, Beltran amassed a .287 batting average, 123 home runs, and 516 RBI, while stealing 164 bases and earning one All-Star selection.

If Beltran is inducted as a Royal, he'll be just the second in franchise history (George Brett). 

The 48-year-old said he enjoyed his time in Kansas City and envisioned being there his whole career, but that wasn’t to be.

He was traded to the Astros during the 2004 season and helped Houston make a deep run with one of the best postseason performances in MLB history.

That offseason, Beltran signed with the Mets on a seven-year, $119 million deal, where he had his best years as a pro.

From 2005-2011, Beltran hit 149 home runs, drove in 559 RBI -- both career highs with any team -- and stole 100 bases while hitting .280 across 839 games. He made five All-Star appearances as a Met while winning three Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards.

But New York’s ties to Beltran go further than his playing career.

The Mets actually hired Beltran to manage the team in November 2019, but reversed the decision a couple of months later after the slugger was suspended due to his role in the Astros' sign-stealing scandal.

New York brought Beltran back in February 2023, hiring him as a special assistant to president of baseball operations David Stearns.

Beltran was asked the cap question again in a Zoom call with assembled media, and the newly-minted Hall of Famer reiterated many of the same points. He’ll take time to decide with his family and even consult the Hall of Fame on how the process works.

But echoed how much the Mets meant to his career.

“The Mets are a big part of my identity as a player,” Beltran said. “Almost seven years in that organization, I got there with a big contract and to be able to stay with the team as an advisor… there’s no doubt the Mets have a lot of weight in that decision.”

If he is inducted as a Met, Beltran will join Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza.

Beltran will receive his plaque in Cooperstown on July 26.

A pair of very good baseball players earned election to the sport’s Hall of Fame Jan. 20, when Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones became just the seventh and eighth center fielders to win a spot in Cooperstown.

While neither are generational and the lone title won by either man in their collective 37 seasons was Beltrán’s 2017 title when he was a part-time 40-year-old DH and full-time illegal sign-stealing mastermind for the Houston Astros, their July inductions will be proof that gains can be made and early deficits overcome in voting.

Perhaps that will offer solace to those lurking a little further down the 2026 ballot. With that, a look at the winners and losers from 2026 Hall of Fame balloting:

Winners

Carlos Beltrán

Any notion that his role in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal might ding his Hall candidacy was ludicrous, given the widespread Wild West atmosphere of high-tech cheating across the major leagues at that time.

No, Beltrán got in on his fourth try, a nice reward for a guy who broke in playing for some overmatched Kansas City Royals teams and finished it as a highly productive veteran bat in places like New York, St. Louis and Texas. Hopefully the Hall call will reopen the door to the manager’s office for a great baseball mind (and yes, one of its elite sign-stealers, legal or otherwise).

Andruw Jones

Proof that professional life can end at 30 and everything turns out all right.

A phenom in the truest sense of the word, Jones remains the lone two-time winner of USA TODAY Sports’ Minor League Player of the Year Award. At first glance, it might seem like the kind of honor you wouldn’t want to win twice, like a return invite to the Futures Game. Then you realize he was 18 and 19 years old when he got those nods, then hit two World Series Game 1 home runs in the latter year, and it makes a lot more sense.

He never really lost that glow throughout his 20s, but after an anomalous 51-homer year in 2005, it all went south for the lad, as he drifted from Atlanta to Los Angeles (the Dodgers eating the second year of his contract) to Texas, the White Sox and finally the Yankees, and he was out of the game by 35.

Perhaps that bad taste in the mouth lingered early on for voters as he was named on just 7.3% of ballots in his first year, narrowly clearing the 5% necessary to stick around. Eventually, the vision of the otherworldly kid prevailed in voters’ minds.

The Brewers announced two Hall of Famers, CC Sabathia and Dave Parker, will join the team’s Wall of Honor this season after both were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame last year.

Sabathia, 45, pitched for Milwaukee for only 17 games down the stretch in 2008, but a memorable tenure it was.

Over those 17 games, Sabathia went 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA, 2.44 FIP, and 128 strikeouts across 130 2/3 innings, accumulating 4.9 bWAR as he tossed a league-best seven complete games, including three shutouts. He even finished fifth in NL Cy Young voting and sixth in NL MVP voting despite only playing in the league for roughly half the season.

Parker, who passed away last summer just before his induction into the Hall, played for the Brewers for just one season toward the tail end of his career. In 1990 with Milwaukee, Parker appeared in 157 games, hitting a solid .289/.330/.451 with 21 homers, 92 RBIs, 71 runs, and four steals. He was named an All-Star for the seventh and final time while also picking up his third Silver Slugger and earning MLB’s Designated Hitter of the Year award. He then finished his career in 1991, splitting the year between the Angels and Blue Jays.

Both players will be honored on Friday, May 8 prior to the Brewers’ game against the New York Yankees. The event will include appearances from both Sabathia and Parker family members, including ceremonial first pitches and videos on the scoreboard.

Per the Brewers’ press release, “[T]he Brewers Wall of Honor is a distinction awarded to players, coaches, and executives who meet a set of criteria based on service to the organization and career accomplishments. Sabathia and Parker will join the permanent exhibit with a bronze plaque affixed to the exterior of the ballpark commemorating their contributions to the franchise.”

To view the full list of players, coaches, and executives included on the Brewers Wall of Honor, click here.

Centerfielders Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones have been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Baseball Writers Association of America, it was announced today.

This was Beltran’s fourth year on the ballot, and he received 358 votes out of 425 ballots cast, giving him 84.2%, comfortably above the 75% threshold required for election. Jones, in his ninth year on the ballot, got 78.4% of the vote, with 333 total votes.

The only other candidate to receive over 50% of the vote was second baseman Chase Utley, who received 59.1% of the vote in his third year on the ballot. Andy Pettitte received 48.5% in his eighth year on the ballot. Felix Hernandez, in his second year on the ballot, had the largest year-over-year jump in BBWAA voting history, going from 20.6% last year to 46.1% this year. Alex Rodriguez received 40% of the vote in this, his fifth year on the ballot. This was Manny Ramirez’s tenth and final year on the ballot, and he received 38.8% of the vote.

Beltran and Jones each had brief stints with the Rangers, and are the 10th and 11th players to have played for the Rangers and be elected to the Hall.

The only newcomer to this year’s ballot to get more than 5% of the vote was Cole Hamels, who received 23.8%.

The other former Rangers on the ballot were Omar Vizquel, who got 18.4% of the vote in his 9th year on the ballot, and one-and-dones Edwin Encarnacion (6 votes), Shin-Soo Choo (3 votes), and Hunter Pence (2 votes).

Congratulations to Beltran and Jones, who are both very worthy selections. Hopefully, Chase Utley, another guy who should have already have been voted in, will join them next year.

You can see the full results here.

Former outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones have been elected into the National Baseball Hall of Fame as part of the 2026 class, as both players reached the 75% threshold for induction as voted on by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA).

The duo will join second baseman Jeff Kent in the 2026 class, as Kent was selected by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee back in December.

Both Beltrán and Jones finished just shy of making the Hall a year ago, as Beltrán received 70.3% of the vote and Jones hit 66.2%. Beltrán, now in his fourth year on the ballot, received 84.2% of the 425 ballots cast, while Jones, in his ninth year on the ballot, reached 78.4%.

Beltrán, 48, seemed like a first-ballot lock near the end of his career, but after he reportedly took a key role in the 2017 Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, he lost his managerial job with the Mets before coaching a game, and his reputation was tarnished.

Still, Beltrán finished his career with 70.0 bWAR, batting .279/.350/.486 with 435 homers, 2,725 hits, 1,587 RBIs, 1,582 runs, and 312 steals over 2,586 games during his 20-year career. He was also named AL Rookie of the Year with the Royals in 1999, and he was selected as an All-Star nine times, won a pair of Silver Sluggers, and three Gold Gloves.

Jones, also 48, had a slightly shorter career than Beltrán, playing 17 seasons from 1996 to 2012, though he still accumulated 62.7 bWAR. One of the greatest outfield gloves in baseball history, Jones won 10 Gold Gloves, a Silver Slugger, and was named an All-Star five times. For his career, he hit .254/.337/.486 with 434 homers, 2,196 hits, 1,289 RBIs, 1,204 runs, and 152 steals over 2,196 games.

Beltrán will likely enter the Hall as either a Kansas City Royal or a New York Met. He spent seven years with both clubs, starting his career in Kansas City and accumulating 24.8 bWAR there before spending 2005-2011 in New York, totaling 31.1 bWAR with the Mets. Jones will almost certainly go in as an Atlanta Brave, having spent 12 of his 17 MLB seasons in Atlanta and totaling 61.0 of his 62.7 bWAR with the Braves.

Beyond Beltrán and Jones, the only other player to break the 50% threshold was former second baseman Chase Utley, who garnered 251 votes, good for 59.1%. Andy Pettitte and Félix Hernández both fell just shy of 50%, as Pettitte received 48.5% of the vote on his eighth ballot and Hernández got 46.1% of the vote in his second year on the ballot.

Of the 12 first-year candidates, Cole Hamels is the only name to remain on the ballot entering next year, as the left-handed starter received 23.8% of the vote. Ryan Braun led the group of players who won’t return to the ballot, as he picked up 15 votes (3.5%). Former Brewer Gio González received no votes, while former closer Francisco Rodríguez received 50 votes (11.8%) and will remain on the ballot for a fifth year next time around.

Congratulations to Beltrán and Jones on joining Kent and the other 354 elected members (281 players) in the Hall this summer! The full voting results of this year’s ballot are below.

Carlos Beltran will soon have a permanent place in Cooperstown, as the former Mets outfielder earned Hall of Fame enshrinement on Tuesday by receiving 84.2 percent of the vote (425 total ballots).

Moments after the nine-time All-Star heard the news, Mets ownership and franchise icons joined the celebration, sharing statements on Beltran's stellar career and achievements.

"One of the most dynamic players ever to wear a Mets uniform, Carlos combined rare power and speed with elite defense, setting a standard of excellence that endures today," said Mets owner Steve Cohen. Beyond his achievements on the field, his leadership, insight, and presence continue to shape our organization. It is a proud moment for Carlos, his family, and Mets fans everywhere."

Beltran, who slashed .279/.350/.486 with 435 home runs, 565 doubles, and 1,587 RBI across 20 seasons, became just the sixth Puerto Rican to reach the Hall of Fame. His roots were emphasized by fellow countryman and Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, who grew up idolizing Beltran.

"Growing up in Puerto Rico, Carlos was an important role model to so many of us. After getting to know him personally, I saw firsthand what an exceptional father, leader, and role model he truly is," Lindor said of Beltran. "He paved the way for future generations of Puerto Rican baseball players and set them on a path to success. For that, he truly deserves this moment."

During his two decades in the majors, Beltran spent most of the 2000s in Queens, playing alongside David Wright, Carlos Delgado, and José Reyes for several seasons. While the Hall of Fame remains a long shot for Wright, whose career was cut short due to injury, he credited Beltran for his leadership as a veteran teammate.

"I remember being a young player in Port St. Lucie in my first Spring Training and looking at you and trying to emulate your game as best as I could," Wright said of Beltran. "When I think of five-tool players, you are one of the first faces that come to mind. And to top it off with your work ethic."

Beltran also received congratulations from former Mets infielder Jeff Kent, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in December via the Contemporary Baseball Era committee ballot. The 2026 class includes Beltran, Kent, and former Braves slugger Andruw Jones.

"I know your family is proud of you, and I can’t wait until you and I meet up again in Cooperstown, where we’ll be inducted into the most prestigious class in all of sports -- the Baseball Hall of Fame," Kent said. "Good luck my brother. I look forward to seeing you in July."

This summer, Beltran could become the third player to don a Mets cap on his Hall of Fame plaque. He played for seven teams from 1998-2017, but collected more homers, doubles, RBI, and runs scored with the Mets than anywhere else. 

His seven seasons (839 total games) with the Mets also produced a career-best 31.1 WAR, and his three Gold Glove awards were won while wearing orange and blue.

The Mets also posted a video to X/Twitter that featured former managers Willie Randolph and Jerry Manuel, among other icons, lauding Beltran.

A special message from some of Carlos’ former teammates and managers! 🧡💙 pic.twitter.com/zB4QyUVdvb

— New York Mets (@Mets) January 20, 2026

David Wright was one of the first former Mets to congratulate Carlos Beltrán on his election into the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday. 

The beloved former Mets third baseman wished Beltrán a “huge, huge congratulations” in a video posted by SNY. 

“To think of the impact that you had on my career, the leadership, showing me how a pro prepares, how a pro works, I’ll never forget,” Wright said. “It was a huge building block, whether you know it or not. Well deserved. A true five-tool player, a true star of the game. Proud to call you a teammate and couldn’t be more excited for the Hall of Fame. Congratulations, buddy.” 

David Wright congratulates Carlos Beltrán on his election to the Hall of Fame! pic.twitter.com/wIxYqrAags

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) January 20, 2026

Wright wasn’t alone in his congratulations for Beltrán, as current Mets star Francisco Lindor released a statement to honor the Mets great. 

“I would like to congratulate Carlos, Jessica, and the rest of his family on the remarkable achievement of his induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame,” Lindor said in a statement. “Growing up in Puerto Rico, Carlos was an important role model to so many of us. After getting to know him personally, I saw firsthand what an exceptional father, leader, and role model he truly is. He paved the way for future generations of Puerto Rican baseball players and set them on a path to success. For that, he truly deserves this moment.”

Wright and Beltrán were teammates from 2005 through 2011 before Beltrán was traded to the Giants.

Their most memorable season came in 2006 when the Mets reached the National League Championship Series and took the Cardinals to seven games, ultimately losing in heartbreaking fashion at Shea Stadium. 

During his seven seasons with the Mets, Beltrán hit .280 with 149 home runs and 559 RBIs. 

The Mets, on their official account on X, posted the video of Beltrán receiving the call that he had been elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America into the Baseball Hall of Fame, with the center fielder getting emotional and his friends and family cheering in celebration around him. 

The call from the Hall pic.twitter.com/yGMoSsfr88

— New York Mets (@Mets) January 20, 2026

This year was his fourth time on the ballot, and he received 84.2 percent of the vote, easily surpassing the 75 percent threshold to be inducted into Cooperstown. 

Beltrán had already indicated to The Post that he would prefer going into the Hall of Fame wearing a Mets cap on his plaque. 

Owner Steve Cohen and his wife Alex were among those who also celebrated Beltran’s big day.

“On behalf of the entire organization, we are thrilled to congratulate Carlos on receiving the highest honor in baseball,” they wrote in a statement. “One of the most dynamic players ever to wear a Mets uniform, Carlos combined rare power and speed with elite defense, setting a standard of excellence that endures today. Beyond his achievements on the field, his leadership, insight, and presence continue to shape our organization. It is a proud moment for Carlos, his family, and Mets fans everywhere.”

During his 20-year career, Beltrán was a nine-time All-Star and won three Gold Gloves and two Silver Slugger awards. He hit 435 home runs, fourth best among primary switch-hitters. 

Aside from the Mets, Beltrán played for the Yankees, Astros, Cardinals, Royals, Rangers and Giants. 

Joining him as part of the Hall of Fame class of 2026 is fellow center fielder Andruw Jones. 

They are just the third and fourth primary center fielders since 1981 to join the Hall of Fame.

Fellow Major League Baseball owners aren’t happy with the Dodgers’ big spending. 

After the two-time defending World Series champions agreed to a deal with Kyle Tucker, adding to their embarrassment of riches and league-high payroll, chatter is growing on how to stop them. 

The Athletic’s Evan Drellich reported Tuesday that a source told him there’s “a 100 percent certainty” that the other 29 teams will push for a salary cap during upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations. 

“These guys are going to go for a cap no matter what it takes,” the anonymous source told the outlet. 

The Tucker pact, a four-year, $240 million contract with $30 million in deferred money, intensifies talks of the coming labor battle — and potential lockout — when the CBA expires in December. 

The massive free agent signing brings the Dodgers’ projected luxury tax payroll to $402.5 million for 2026, per Cot’s Contracts. 

That’s more than the bottom-four payroll clubs combined, outnumbering the sum of the Marlins ($79.3 million), Rays ($93.9M), Guardians ($103.5M) and White Sox ($105.1M) with some time to go before Opening Day. 

The Tucker-Dodgers marriage wasn’t the only move this offseason that has owners upset, per Drellich, though. 

The Mets’ three-year, $126 million deal for Bo Bichette “also raised dander,” according to the report. 

“The Dodgers and Mets might be the only teams that will try to stand in the way of a cap,” the source said. 

The Amazin’s aren’t far behind the Dodgers in terms of spending, with a luxury tax payroll sitting at $345.7.

Agent Scott Boras, who has long been one of the biggest pro-labor and anti-cap voices in the sport, described the Dodgers as an anomaly, and “not a system issue.” 

“[The Dodgers] are the benefactors of acquiring Shohei Ohtani, MLB’s astatine,” Boras said in a statement to The Athletic. “Short-lived and rare. No other player offers such past or present. Ohtani is the genius of elite performance and additional revenue streams of near $250 million annually for a short window of history. 

“The process of acquiring Ohtani was one of fairness and equal opportunity throughout the league,” he continued. “A rare, short-lived element is not a reason to alter the required anchored chemistry of MLB. The mandate of stability to gain media rights optimums is the true solution to league success.”

It’s a tale of sustained excellence, peak brilliance and overdue redemption: Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones each surpassed the 75% needed for election by members of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday, while Jeff Kent formally was awarded his place in Cooperstown this winter by the Contemporary Era Committee. The trio will headline the Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

Kent was announced as a Hall of Fame inductee in December, finally receiving long-overdue recognition for his sterling work at second base. His 377 homers are the most all-time at the position, while his 1,518 RBI and eight 100-RBI seasons are unmatched for a second baseman. Kent was a five-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger winner who slashed .290/.356/.500 with 55.4 WAR over 17 seasons. Simply put, Kent was a generational talent who did things at second base that most didn’t think were possible.

Beltrán, meanwhile, fell just short of Cooperstown last year in his third trip on the BBWAA ballot, receiving 70.3% of the vote. But the writers have spoken this year, elevating Beltrán to the HOF with 84.2% of the vote. Beltrán appeared in 20 seasons and 2,586 games over his career, slashing .279/.350/.486 with 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, 312 stolen bases and 70 WAR. His counting numbers are all the more impressive considering he’s one of only five players in MLB history to post 500 doubles, 400 homers and 300 steals. Beltrán was a nine-time All-Star and won three Gold Gloves, as well as earning American League Rookie of the Year honors in 1999. What sets Beltrán apart from others, though? His resume in October. Beltrán was a different beast during postseason play, slashing .307/.412/.609 with a 1.021 OPS, which ranks among the best postseason performances ever.

Unfortunately for Beltrán, his career wasn’t all sunshine and roses as he was named in the report on the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal and admitted to using text messages to share scouting information during his tenure with Houston. After apologizing to MLB, he stepped away from baseball for several years. As time went on, the writers increasingly overlooked his role in the scandal and accepted his apology. Today, he serves as the Mets’ special assistant to the president of baseball operations, David Stearns.

The delayed election of Jones is just another example of how a perception of Hall of Fame worthiness can evolve over time. Jones surpassed the 75% mark this year in his ninth year on the ballot, eventually landing at 78.4%. It wasn’t always pretty for Jones, who came alarmingly close to falling off the ballot in his first year of eligibility after recording just 7.3% of the vote. But each year, Jones gained steam as voters began to understand the value of his elite defense at a premium position, combined with plus power at the plate. During his best years, Jones was one of the best center fielders the game has ever seen, winning Gold Gloves for 10 straight seasons while also hammering 434 home runs over his career. Prior to this year, only eight center fielders were enshrined in Cooperstown; with the election of Beltrán  and Jones, that number now sits at 10.

A deeper dive into Jones’ prime reveals just how good he was. At age 19, Jones homered twice in his first two career World Series at-bats. He had seven 30-homer seasons, led MLB with 51 homers in 2005, and was a five-time All-Star. Unfortunately, injuries cut into Jones’ career after age 30 and prevented him from adding even more to his eye-popping stats. Jones spent one lone season in 2010 in Chicago, where he posted a 120 OPS+ and put up a 1.9 WAR across 107 games for the White Sox. His career was also not without issue, as an off-field arrest for domestic violence in 2012 may have delayed his rise toward Cooperstown.

Finally, reaching career highs on Monday was former White Sox southpaw Mark Buehrle, who saw his vote total jump from 11.4% in 2025 to 20% in 2026. It’s a steady increase over the course of his six years on the ballot, and one that could continue to trend upwards as seasons pass. This year’s election was rife with first-time voters, and this generally progressive sect gave the southpaw a healthy boost.

Buehrle has one of the best pitching hallmarks of all time, tossing at least 200 innings in 14 straight seasons. Only seven Modern Era pitchers have reached that milestone, and six are already in the Hall of Fame. Buehrle won 214 games, logged more than 3,200 innings since the start of the 21st Century and had elite defensive metrics earning him three Gold Gloves. Buehrle also boasts several signature moments (which voters love), including a perfect game, a no-hitter, an ALCS complete game, and a back-to-back starter win and save in the World Series. Hopefully, his case will only grow stronger with time, and the momentum eventually works in Buehrle’s favor.

There are two new members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and both of them are ex-Yankees. On Tuesday night, the BBWAA released the results of this year’s Hall of Fame ballot: Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones have been elected as part of the class of 2026. The pair will be enshrined in Cooperstown alongside Eras Committee pick Jeff Kent on July 26th.

The pair were born just one day apart in April of 1977 and have now been elected to the Hall of Fame on the same day. Only two center fielders had been elected to Cooperstown in the last 45 years, so to induct a pair in on the same day is a relative bonanza.

Beltrán topped balloting in this cycle, receiving 84.2 percent of the vote in his fourth year on the ballot. It’s a jump of almost 13 percentage points from last year, when Beltrán narrowly missed out on election.

Beltrán played 20 seasons in the big leagues with the Royals, Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees, and Rangers, slashing .279/.350/.486 with 435 home runs, 1,587 RBIs, 312 stolen bases, a 118 wRC+, and 67.4 fWAR. He was a nine-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glover, two-time Silver Slugger, the 1999 AL Rookie of the Year, and the 2013 Roberto Clemente Award winner. He hit the fourth-most home runs of any switch-hitter in league history behind only Mickey Mantle, Eddie Murray, and Chipper Jones, and is one of only eight players in MLB history with at least 300 home runs and 300 stolen bases alongside Willie Mays, Bobby Bonds, Andre Dawson, Barry Bonds, Steve Finley, Reggie Sanders, and Alex Rodriguez.

Beltrán played two-and-a-half seasons for the Yankees in his late-thirties and was one of their more productive hitters upon signing with them in the mid-2010s before being traded to the Rangers for a trio of prospects at the 2016 Trade Deadline. He would go on to win his lone World Series ring a year later with the Astros (dispatching his old teammates in a seven-game ALCS), but was named as one of the architects of their 2017 sign-stealing scandal, which was one of the principal factors in not being elected to the Hall in his first three years of eligibility. Nonetheless, Beltrán becomes the sixth player from Puerto Rico to be elected to Cooperstown.

Jones sneaks in with 78.4 percent of the vote, representing just over a 12 percentage point increase from his vote share last year. It was Jones’ ninth year on the ballot, his penultimate year of eligibility.

Jones becomes the first player born in Curaçao to be elected to the Hall of Fame. He was considered one of the all-time great defensive center fielders in MLB history, his 126.4 UZR ranking him second all-time behind Ichiro Suzuki and his 150 total zone runs ranking him fifth all-time behind Clemente, Mays, Barry Bonds, and Jesse Barfield. He blended that defense with prodigious power — he is one of only four players in history with at least 10 Gold Gloves and 400 home runs, joining Mays, Ken Griffey Jr., and Mike Schmidt.

In his 17 big league seasons, Jones played for the Braves, Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees, making five All-Star appearances. He slashed .254/.337/.486 with 434 home runs, 1,289 RBIs, 152 stolen bases, a 111 wRC+ and 67 fWAR. His career is bookended by encounters with the Yankees. As a rookie in 1996, he became the youngest player in MLB history to homer in the World Series at just 19 years old, breaking the record set by Mickey Mantle when he hit home runs in his first two at-bats of Game 1 of the 1996 World Series. He played the final two seasons of his big league career with the Yankees in 2011 and 2012 before a two-season swan song in Japan with the NPB’s Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, where he was teammates with future Yankees ace Masahiro Tanaka.

Andy Pettitte experienced one of the biggest jumps in vote share, going from 27.9-percent of the vote last year to 48.5-percent of the vote in this cycle. It’s an encouraging sign for Pettitte in his eighth year on the ballot — if he can experience similar jumps in his final two years of eligibility there is a real chance he could be elected. There will always be questions of the effect his admission to using HGH will have on future voting, but the all-time postseason wins leader is certainly trending in the right direction.

As for other former Yankees on the ballot, Alex Rodriguez remained relatively stagnant, going from 37.1-percent of the vote last year to 40-percent in this, his fifth year of eligibility. Bobby Abreu experienced a nice jump from 19.5-percent last year to 30.8-percent this year, but with only three more years on the ballot, he will need to be handed even bigger boosts in future voting cycles to have a shot. Edwin Encarnación received just six votes (1.4-percent) in his first year on the ballot and will therefore fall off the ballot as he comes up short of the five-percent threshold needed to maintain eligibility.

Congratulations again to Beltrán and Jones on this fantastic achievement. The full voting can be found below.

With the 2025 season now concluded, we’ll keep track of every transaction by the Dodgers for the entire offseason here, beginning with the advent of free agency on November 2 until the start of spring training.

We will update this page throughout the offseason with every transaction, and links below to specific details about every roster move by the team. You can also find more information on each move in our Dodgers roster section on the site. Here is a look at how the roster looked at the first day of the offseason.

For more information on Dodgers transactions during the 2025 season, click here.

Note: On a mobile device, this table will show up best in landscape mode.

Click on the dates below for more detailed information on each transaction:

January 15: Kyle Tucker agreed to terms for four years, $240 million (not yet official).

January 20: Ryan Fitzgerald cleared waivers and was sent outright to Triple-A Oklahoma City.

January 13: Andy Ibáñez signed for one-year, $1.2 million. Ryan Fitzgerald was designated for assignment.

January 9: Ryan Fitzgerald was claimed off waivers from Twins.

January 8: Anthony Banda signed one-year deal for $1.625 million, avoiding salary arbitration.

January 8: Alex Call signed one-year deal for $1.6 million, avoiding salary arbitration.

January 8: Brock Stewart signed one-year deal for $1.3 million, avoiding salary arbitration.

January 7: Brusdar Graterol signed one-year deal for $2.8 million, avoiding salary arbitration.

December 30: Esteury Ruiz was traded to Marlins for minor league pitcher Adriano Marrero.

December 12: Edwin Díaz signed for three years, $69 million.

December 12: Michael Siani was claimed off waivers from Braves.

December 4: Miguel Rojas agreed to terms for one year, $5.5 million

November 21: Evan Phillips and Nick Frasso were not tendered contracts, making them free agents.

November 18: Ronan Kopp was added to the 40-man roster

November 16: Robinson Ortiz was traded to the Mariners for minor league pitcher Tyler Gough.

November 12: Ben Rortvedt was claimed off waivers by the Reds. Tony Gonsolin cleared waivers and elected free agency.

November 6: Max Muncy’s $10 million club option for 2026 was exercised.

November 6: Alex Vesia’s $3.65 million club option for 2026 was exercised.

November 6: Justin Dean was claimed off outright waivers by the Giants.

November 6: Tony Gonsolin was designated for assignment, Ryan Ward and Robinson Ortiz were added to the 40-man roster. Michael Grove was sent outright to the minors.

November 2: Clayton Kershaw, Kiké Hernández, Miguel Rojas, Michael Conforto, Kirby Yates, Michael Kopech, and Andrew Heaney are free agents.

Shortly after the World Series ended in November, eligible BBWAA writers around the country (including one of our own) began to receive their ballots to determine the 2026 class for the National Baseball Hall of Fame, and they had until the end of 2025 to mail them in. Former San Francisco Giants second baseman and MVP Jeff Kent was voted in by the Hall’s separate Eras Committee in December, and he won’t be alone on the podium in Cooperstown during the 2026 induction ceremonies this summer.

Joe Buck will receive the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcasting and longtime Cleveland writer Paul Hoynes will be honored with the newly-renamed Platinum Pen Award. As just revealed in a Tuesday night announcement on MLB Network by Hall of Fame president Josh Rawitch, they’ll all be joined by the newest BBWAA inductees: Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones.

Purely by the numbers, Beltrán was always an excellent candidate for Cooperstown, as the switch-hitting center fielder finished his 20-year career in 2017 with 435 homers, 312 stolen bases, 2,725 hits, and 67.4 fWAR. He follows the legendary footsteps of Roberto Clemente in becoming the sixth Puerto Rican to make the Hall of Fame, joining first baseman Orlando Cepeda, second baseman Roberto Alomar, catcher Iván Rodríguez, and DH Edgar Martinez (born in New York but raised by his grandparents in Puerto Rico).

A second-round prep pick by the Kansas City Royals in the 1995 MLB Draft, he zoomed through the minors and became a near-unanimous pick for 1999 AL Rookie of the Year. He largely toiled in anonymity on some bad Royals teams until the contending Houston Astros traded for him in June 2004, just before he made the first of nine career All-Star appearances with a 30/30 season. Beltrán excelled down the stretch as Houston won a Wild Card spot and then seized the national spotlight with a postseason for the ages. Even though the Astros didn’t make the World Series and got eliminated by the St. Louis Cardinals in a seven-game NLCS, Beltrán tied a then-playoff record with 8 homers in 12 games, hitting a hellacious .435/.536/1.022. He certainly did his part.

A coveted free agent that offseason, Beltrán signed a seven-year, $119 million contract with the New York Mets and had the best season of his career in 2006. He hit a new high with 41 homers, won his first of three consecutive Gold Gloves in center, and finished fourth for NL MVP as the Mets at last toppled the Atlanta Braves to the NL East. Beltrán’s bat was electric again come October with a .978 OPS, but the only at-bat that most fans remembered was the one that ended the Mets’ run in Game 7 of the NLCS, as Beltrán struck out looking against the Cardinals’ Adam Wainwright with the bases loaded and the winning run in scoring position.

Thanks to some late-season collapses in Queens, it would be several years before Beltrán got another crack at a title. He joined those same Cardinals in free agency following the 2011 campaign, kept hitting in October, and made his first World Series appearance in 2013 when the Cards took down the up-and-coming Los Angeles Dodgers for the pennant after Beltrán walked off Game 1. The Boston Red Sox won in six games, so despite Beltrán’s .982 career playoff OPS for St. Louis, he had to make a return trip to Houston to finally win it all.

Signed at age 40 by the Astros to be a DH and team leader after stints with the New York Yankees and Texas Rangers, Beltrán’s production finally faltered. But his teammates pushed him over the finish line with a seven-game over the Dodgers. Beltrán rode off into the sunset as a World Series champion and was so well-respected that the Yankees interviewed him for their open managerial job less than a month after his career ended. He didn’t get it, but the Mets hired him as their skipper on November 2019.

Beltrán’s post-career momentum came to screeching halt that same offseason, when news broke of the Astros’ 2017 sign-stealing scandal. The 23 then-active players who participated in the scandal were controversially granted immunity to help MLB’s investigation, and that contingent notably excluded the now-retired Beltrán. Indeed, he was the one named player in MLB’s final report, released in January 2020, specifically noted among a general group of players who “discussed that the team could improve on decoding opposing teams’ signs and communicating the signs to the batter.”

Beltrán was fired by the Mets before the team even reported for spring training, and the man who was onceconsidered a near-lock for the Hall of Fame appeared on less than half of all 389 ballots during his first year of eligibility in 2023. Since then, however, the BBWAA’s collective stance has softened on Beltrán, and he garnered 57.1 percent in 2024 before missing induction in 2025 by only 19 votes. Now, he is a Hall of Famer, appearing on 84.2 percent of ballots.

This will be a big year for defensively superb center fielders with power who were born in the Caribbean in late April 1977. Andruw Jones was in fact born just one day before Beltrán, though at the time, no one from Curaçao had ever played in the majors. If Hensley Meulens opened the door in 1989, Jones fully broke it down seven years later (All-Stars like Kenley Jansen, Andrelton Simmons, Jurickson Profar, and Ozzie Albies would follow). A preternaturally gifted prospect ranked No. 1 overall by Baseball America in 1996, Jones was only 19 when he made his MLB debut for the defending champion Braves that August. Hall of Fame manager Bobby Cox was impressed enough by the teenager that he put him on the playoff roster, and the presence of the DH in Game 1 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium encouraged Cox to give Jones a start in the outfield.

Atlanta reaped the benefits when Jones immediately homered off Andy Pettitte to become the youngest player to homer in a Fall Classic, surpassing no less a luminary than New York’s own Mickey Mantle. He went yard in his second at-bat too, joining 1972 Oakland A’s catcher Gene Tenace as the only players in MLB history to do so.

Jones’ 1.250 OPS on the game’s greatest stage went for naught as the Yankees came back to win in six games. He would never be a World Series champion (losing another to New York in 1999), but for the next decade, there was no better center fielder in baseball than the prodigy in Atlanta.

From 1997-2007, Jones led the Braves’ offense alongside another Jones and hit .263/.343/.498 with 363 homers, a 114 wRC+, and 64.2 fWAR — a figure that trailed only Barry Bonds and Alex Rodriguez. The only center fielder within even 15 fWAR of Jones in that span was Jim Edmonds (50.7). Jones made five All-Star teams and narrowly lost the NL MVP to Albert Pujols in 2005, the last of Atlanta’s 14 consecutive division titles and a year that saw him clobber 51 homers to set a then-Braves record. His potent bat helped him reach 434 career homers (a top-50 in MLB history at the time his career ended), but what made Jones stand out was his glove. Jones has a legitimate case as the best defensive center fielder to ever play the game, and he won 10 consecutive Gold Gloves from 1998-2007.

The primary on-field issue with Jones’ Hall of Fame case was that his career was basically over after that stretch. His bat had dipped a bit in 2007, and he was both out of shape and absolutely horrible for the Dodgers upon signing with LA for his age-31 season in 2008. He found some success in a reduced bat-first role for three different teams from 2009-12, and he even a 132 wRC+ with in 77 games for the Yankees in 2011. The next year, though, he stumbled to an 89 wRC+, failed to make the playoff roster, and in a legitimately alarming off-field incident, Jones was arrested on Christmas Day 2012 for domestic violence against his wife. They later divorced, and plenty of voters who might’ve taken up his statistical Hall of Fame case understandably passed on voting for him. After two seasons in Japan with the Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles, he was done. Jones was only 35 at the time of his last career MLB game.

Jones debuted on a very crowded Hall of Fame ballot in 2018 and failed to garner even eight percent of the BBWAA vote during his first two years. As the top of the classes thinned out and more former teammates and rivals began to ardently make the case for Jones, he took big jumps in voting share, and his largest leap yet in 2023 brought him up from 41.4 percent to 58.1. He garnered just under two-thirds of the vote in 2025, and now in his penultimate year on the ballot, he has passed the three-fourths hurdle at 78.4 percent and joined former Atlanta teammates Greg Maddux, John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, and Fred McGriff in Cooperstown.

The next-closest Hall of Fame candidate from this year’s crop was a man beloved by the City of Philadelphia, Chase Utley, at 59.1 percent. A somewhat-late start to his career led to a case that’s not as strong on counting stats, but like Jones, he was among baseball’s elite at his peak and he still accumulated 61.5 fWAR, one of just 17 second basemen in MLB history to do so. A remarkable 43.6 of that total came from 2005-2010, when he hit .298/.388/.523 with 162 homers and a 136 wRC+ as the Phillies won it all in 2008 and nearly repeated in 2009. Utley will be in great position to make it to Cooperstown in 2027, when the only players seemingly worthy of consideration who will be joining the ballot are Buster Posey and Jon Lester.

One of Utley’s teammates from those Philly teams debuted on this year’s Hall of Fame ballot: Cole Hamels (23.8 percent). The 2008 NLCS and World Series MVP was a durable, productive southpaw and four-time All-Star from 2006-19 before a sudden onset of injuries ended his career. He easily fared the best of the newcomer candidates. Hamels had a strong debut, and two other pitching holdovers made great gains as well in Andy Pettitte (48.5 percent) and Félix Hernández (46.1 percent). Starting pitcher standards have changed in recent years with how MLB teams have used starters as the century has progressed, so they’re longer look; given that, Mark Buehrle (20 percent) probably should have come closer to their percentages, but he will remain on the ballot next year anyway. So will Bobby Abreu, Dustin Pedroia, Jimmy Rollins, David Wright, Omar Vizquel, Francisco Rodríguez, and Torii Hunter, who all cleared that five-percent threshold.

Finally, there’s the matter of Alex Rodriguez (40 percent) and Manny Ramirez (38.8 percent). Both are obvious Hall of Famers by the numbers, but they also both have two long PED suspensions on their records. Although a high number of voters are willing to look past that (if not only because MLB already doled out the agreed-upon punishment and the man who looked the other way on PEDs for so long, commissioner Bud Selig, has a Hall of Fame plaque), they’ve never come particularly close to winning over even 50 percent. A-Rod will continue to hang around on the ballot next year. This will be the last for Manny, however, as this is his last year of BBWAA eligibility. Given how others with PED ties have fared on Eras Committees, it’s hard to envision a future where Manny or A-Rod get their days in the sun.

The BBWAA’s full balloting can be found below.

There was no need for advanced analytics or algorithms.

No need for any public relations campaigns.

Simply, Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday night the old-fashioned way.

The Baseball Writers' Association of America had elected only two center fielders the past 45 years – Kirby Puckett and Ken Griffey Jr. – but this pair born only a day apart, were voted in on the same night. Beltrán received 84.2% of the vote in his fourth year on the ballot while Jones received 78.4% in his ninth appearance.

Beltrán, who was a winner of the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award, becomes only the sixth player from Puerto Rico to be elected, while Jones is the first player from the island of Curaçao.

“There’s no doubt that today my life has really changed being named to the Hall of Fame and what this really means to me, to Puerto Rico, to our family …" Beltrán said. “I’m humbled. Just look at my story, coming up as a Latino player, and coming from a humble family, and now I have a plaque in Cooperstown next to all of those great players."

Outfielders Carlos Beltrán and Andruw Jones were elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, in results announced by the Baseball Writers Association of America on Tuesday afternoon.

Beltrán and Jones will be inducted to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown on Sunday, July 26 along with second baseman Jeff Kent, who was voted in by the Contemporary Baseball Era Committee in December.

Beltrán was named on 358 of 425 ballots (84.2 percent) by the BBWAA, surpassing the 75-percent threshold required for induction in his fourth year on the ballot. For Jones, his rise in support was more methodical, starting with only 7.3 percent and 7.5 percent in 2018-19, his first two tries, barely above the five-percent needed to remain on the ballot. Jones this year received 78.4-percent support, clearing induction by 14 votes in his ninth year on the ballot.

Beltrán hit .279/.350/.486 with a 118 wRC+ with 435 home runs and 312 stolen bases in 20 big league seasons for the Royals, Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees, and Rangers. A nine-time All-Star, Beltran also won three Gold Glove Awards in center field and two Silver Slugger Awards, and hit .307/.412/.609 with 16 home runs and a 169 wRC+ in 65 postseason games.

Jones is one of the best defensive center fielders ever and hit .263/.342/.497 with a 111 wRC+ and 434 home runs in his 17-year career, though was basically finished as a productive player after age 30. The Dodgers signed him to a two-year deal in 2008, his age-31 season, and he hit .158/.256/.249 in 75 games, his 35 OPS+ tied for the worst in Dodgers history in the live ball era, with a minimum of 200 plate appearances.

The biggest jump on the 2026 ballot was from pitcher Félix Hernández, who was named on 46.1 percent of ballots in his second try on the ballot, up from 20.6 percent in his first year. Chase Utley also had a sizable jump, going from 39.8 percent last year to 59.1 percent this year on his third ballot. Utley had the most votes on this ballot among players not inducted.

Cole Hamels got the most support of any first-year player on the ballot with 101 votes, 23.8 percent of the total.

Manny Ramírez received only 38.8 percent in his 10th and final year on the writers’ ballot, his 555 career home runs outweighed by his two suspensions under the MLB joint drug policy. This was his highest support in any of his 10 years on the ballot.

Torii Hunter isn’t anywhere close to induction and only got 8.7 percent of the vote this year, but that’s 16 votes more than the five-percent required for remaining on the ballot what for Hunter in 2027 will be his seventh year.

Longtime Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp received two votes in his first and now only year on the ballot. The BBWAA will release individual votes of writers who wished for their votes to be public on February 3.

Carlos Beltrán dazzled Royals fans with highlight-reel catches, amazing power, and blazing speed, providing a rare bright spot during some otherwise gloomy seasons. Anyone who watched him during that stretch was watching a future Hall of Famer.

Beltrán was officially elected into the Hall of Fame in results announced by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America on Tuesday. Beltrán was on 84.2 percent of ballots, clearing the 75 percent threshold on his fourth ballot. Joining him in the 2026 class will be outfielder Andruw Jones, who appeared on 78.4 percent of ballots in his ninth year.

Chase Utley continues to build support, but fell short with support on just 59.1 percent of the ballots. Manny Ramirez was not elected in his tenth and final year on the ballot, earning just 38.8 percent of the vote. Cole Hamels did the best among first-time candidates, named on 23.8 percent of ballots. Former Royals outfielder Alex Gordon was named on just one ballot and will not be eligible on next year’s ballot.

Beltrán spent 20 years in the big leagues, starting with the Royals. He won Rookie of the Year in 1999, becoming just the eighth rookie in MLB history to score 100 runs and drive in 100 runs. He went on to play for the Astros, Mets, Giants, Cardinals, Yankees, and Rangers before re-joining the Astros at the end of his career. He finished his MLB career with 2,725 hits, 435 home runs, 312 stolen bases, and a line of .279/.350/.486 with 70.1 rWAR. He was a nine-time All-Star, three-time Gold Glove winner, two-time Silver Slugger Award winner, and one of the more respected players in the game. His candidacy was later complicated by his involvement in the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal, likely delaying his induction.

Andruw Jones is regarded as one of the best defensive outfielders of all time and was a key member of the great Braves teams of the late 90s and early 2000s. In 17 seasons, he hit .254/.337/.486 with 434 homers, 1,289 RBIs, and 152 stolen bases with the Braves, Dodgers, Rangers, White Sox, and Yankees. He was a five-time All-Star, a ten-time Gold Glove winner, and he won a Silver Slugger Award in 2005 when he led the league in home runs (51) and RBI (128). His 24.4 defensive WAR is the most ever by an outfielder.

What cap Beltrán wears in Cooperstown remains to be seen. Players can request a certain team, but it is still at the discretion of the Hall, and sometimes a player enters with no logo. Beltrán spent seven years each with the Royals and Mets. He played 839 games with the Mets and 795 with the Royals. His most memorable postseason came in 2006 with the Mets, although he was known for making the last out in the NLCS. He later reached the World Series with the Cardinals in 2013 and won a championship with the Astros in 2017.

Beltrán and Jones will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on July 26, along with Jeff Kent, who was elected by the Contemporary Era committee.