It now appears it’s a question of when, not if, Carlos Beltrán will be voted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Next year could be his time. The ballot is wide open.

Carlos Beltrán appeared on 70.3% of the ballots Tuesday, leaving the former Mets and Yankees outfielder shy of the 75% required for Hall of Fame election.

The Cooperstown candidacies of Carlos Beltran and Andruw Jones might benefit by the lack of slam-dunk newcomers to the 2026 Hall of Fame ballot.

In fact, next year could be his time, with the ballot wide open. Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner were elected in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced Tuesday night.