Way-too-early predictions for former KC Royals on 2025 Hall of Fame ballot

Carlos Beltrán, OF

Career stats: .279 BA, 2,725 H, 435 HR, 1,587 RBI, 1,582 R, 565 2B, 78 3B, 312 SB, 1,084 BB, .350 OBP, .486 SLG

• World Series Champion (2017)
• Silver Slugger Award (2006, 2007)
• Gold Glove Award (2006-2008)
• All Star (2004–2007, 2009, 2011–2013, 2016)
• AL Rookie of the Year (1999)
• Roberto Clemente Award (2013)
• 5th player in 400 HR/300 SB club

Beltrán's career peak came after he left Kauffman Stadium, but there’s little debate that he was the Royals' most talented player since Hall of Famer George Brett retired. The Puerto Rican star was a youthful sensation before the turn of the century, providing Royals fans with a rare bright spot during a largely forgettable seven-year stretch for the team.

The veteran's final and worst MLB season with the Houston Astros in 2017 tarnished both his post-playing career and his overall legacy. While Beltrán earned a World Series ring that year, the sign-stealing scandal surrounding that team has cast a shadow that lingers to this day. He was poised to become the New York Mets' manager but was relieved of his duties before managing a single game due to the fallout from the investigation. Cheating and testing the boundaries of the rules have been part of baseball for decades, but what the Astros did — and the fact that they were caught — has permanently altered how fans view any player associated with that team.

It’s easy to dismiss Beltrán as a bystander in the Astros’ cheating scandal, but details that emerged afterward paint a very different picture. Winning Fixes Everything by Evan Drellich is an excellent account of how the 2010s Astros front office operated and the sign-stealing scandal that Drellich first broke. The author described Beltrán as the "godfather" of the sign-stealing process, actively deterring efforts to stop it. As one of the system's primary beneficiaries, Beltrán was far from a passive participant — he was, as Drellich suggests, a central figure in the scheme.

That involvement has held back his Hall of Fame case, but Beltrán only needs 75% of voters to forgive him or cast a blind eye. He should see some gains again, as people move on and remember him more as a New York Mets executive, his current role. He may not reach Cooperstown this year, but it is coming sooner rather than later.

Prediction: Gains <8% of voters