PORT ST. LUCIE — Francisco Lindor leaned on a mentor to help him navigate his first two seasons with the Mets. Now, that mentor officially has a title with the team and can be shared throughout the organization.

Carlos Beltran returned to the Mets last week as a special assistant to general manager Billy Eppler — the team officially announced the hiring on Thursday — and figures to serve as a prominent resource for the club, in the front office and advising players as needed.

“He’s someone that is very knowledgeable, someone who had ups and downs in his career and someone that will help Billy and other members of the front office to communicate with us,” Lindor said. “Sometimes we really can’t relate because [team officials] talk a different language or they never really played the game. But having Beltran that has done both, he can definitely talk to players … he’s very knowledgeable. He’s someone that the game needs.”

Beltran was hired as Mets manager in November 2019, but departed before managing a game, after he was named as a key figure in the Astros’ sign-stealing scheme. Beltran’s baseball return occurred last season as an analyst on YES, working Yankees games. Beltran had served as a special assistant for the Yankees before the Mets hired him as manager.

Lindor, who like the former All-Star outfielder hails from Puerto Rico, sought Beltran’s counsel upon arriving to the Mets in 2021. It was a season in which Lindor underperformed and often heard boos from the home crowd.

“[Beltran] saw a lot of things,” Lindor said. “The No. 1 thing was understanding what was happening when it came to the results and why people were on me and booing me. He went through the same phase [with the Mets] where he was getting it from people and he said, ‘In part they are booing you, but mostly the results. Give them some reason to cheer you, and you will be fine.’

“And there were moments I would say, ‘I just can’t focus on my at-bats.’ I would focus on what was going to happen and I couldn’t focus on my at-bats. And we just talked through mechanics and how I was approaching my at-bats in the on-deck circle and as I was walking up to the plate and what was happening in the batter’s box … stuff like that, which brought me back to the moment.”