Asked at the GM meetings on Thursday about the alleged involvement of Carlos Beltran in the Astros' sign-stealing in 2017, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen said he hadn't yet spoken to Beltran and deferred to Major League Baseball on most questions since he didn't yet have enough information on the matter.
The questions Van Wagenen deferred to MLB included ones about potential discipline from the league.
Beltran, who played for the Astros in 2017 during the final season of his career, was among those who played a "key role in devising" the alleged camera-aided in-game sign-stealing system they used, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported.
According to Rosenthal, Red Sox manager Alex Cora -- who was the Astros' bench coach in 2017 while Beltran was a player in what was the final season of his career -- was among the other members of the Astros to play a "key role" in the sign-stealing.
"Anything that happened, happened for another organization with Houston, Major League Baseball," Van Wagenen said. "I have no idea if anything did or did not (happen). But at this point, I don't see any reason why this is a Mets situation. ... I'll let Major League Baseball dictate the next steps and try to gather more information in the coming days."
Per Rosenthal's report, MLB's investigation into the Astros is "virtually certain" to include interviews with current manager A.J. Hinch, Red Sox manager Alex Cora (who was the Astros' bench coach in 2017), and Beltran.
In a wide-ranging report from Rosenthal earlier this week, former Astros pitcher Mike Fiers and unnamed sources shed light on the elaborate sign-stealing operation the Astros allegedly used during their championship season in 2017.
In the Rosenthal report that came out Wednesday night, Beltran -- who texted Rosenthal -- said he was not part of the alleged sign-stealing that involved the center field camera.
"We took a lot of pride studying pitchers in the computer - that is the only technology that I use and I understand," Beltrán told Rosenthal. "It was fun seeing guys get to the ballpark to look for little details. (In) the game of baseball, guys for years have given location and if the catchers get lazy and the pitcher doesn't cover the signs from second base, of course players are going to take advantage."