Carlos Beltrán’s playing career will be cast in bronze on Sunday in Cooperstown, N.Y., when he is inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. But in a Zoom call with reporters on Monday, Beltrán said he’s hoping for a second act as manager — and the New York Mets, the team he will represent on his plaque, asked him about the job after firing Carlos Mendoza last month.“Yes, I had conversations with a few people within the organization, and I don’t know, I just didn’t feel it was the right thing for me to do,” Beltrán said. “And I have to tell you that, having the opportunity to manage, I would say that that’s probably in my bucket list.”Beltrán added that he loves his current role as special assistant to Mets baseball operations president David Stearns because he works closely with decision-makers who value his perspective. When Stearns hired Andy Green as interim manager, Stearns said Green would return to his role as farm director after the season.That leaves an opening for Beltrán to possibly fill, which would clearly be easier to do once the Hall of Fame ceremony is behind him. Beltrán, however, stopped just short of saying that the time was right.“I understand that my name has been mentioned about being a manager and all that, and I’m proud of that,” he said, adding later, “But at the same time, I don’t know, man, I’ve got to think deeply about what my next step is going to be.”Beltrán, of course, was named manager of the Mets in November 2019, just before The Athletic broke the news of the Houston Astros’ illegal sign-stealing operation during their 2017 championship season.