From the NY Times:
Beltran and the Mets Reach a Deal
By JACK CURRY
Published: January 9, 2005
Carlos Beltran, the man who was seemingly destined to play center field for the Yankees and then was supposedly going to return to the Houston Astros, will instead become a member of the Mets. In Beltran, the Mets now have their marquee player for several years and, they hope, their savior of sorts.
A major league official who was briefed on the negotiations said Beltran and the Mets have agreed in principle to a seven-year, $119 million contract. The deal is contingent on Beltran passing a physical on Monday and on the two sides finalizing the financial structure of the contract, so the Mets are agonizingly close to mattering a lot more as a team.
By using a persistent approach and offering the priciest deal, General Manager Omar Minaya persuaded Beltran to spend the next seven summers chasing flyballs in Flushing and playing in the shadow of the mighty Yankees. For now, that is.
The Mets believe that Beltran, the most desirable free agent, can help them revive a stagnant organization and they dream about eventually challenging the Yankees for supremacy in the city. Beltran does everything well. He can run, hit, hit for power, throw and field, meaning he has all of the traits that make a baseball player a special baseball player.
In signing Beltran and Pedro Martinez, the best free agent pitcher, the Mets have invested $172 million to remake themselves. That Minaya was able to convince both players to relocate to a team that has averaged 71 victories in the last three seasons was a tremendous coup.
So, in less than three months, the Mets have added two All-Star players and made the kind of splashy moves usually associated with George Steinbrenner, the principal owner of the Yankees. Steinbrenner had some interest in Beltran, but almost none in Martinez. The Mets were obsessed with both players and were not stalled by any of their competition in snaring them.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/09/sports/baseball/09cnd-beltran.html?hp&ex=1105333200&en=018c9e8ca2e8bb0e&ei=5094&partner=homepage
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