Former Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado isn’t retiring, but you may not find him on anybody’s roster come Opening Day. The first baseman’s agent, David Sloane, tells Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports that Delgado will not be accepting any of the offers that are currently available to him, some of which are major league deals.
“Delgado does not plan on retiring. Instead, he’ll wait for an opportunity to open up. When that happens, Carlos will be available,” Sloane said. “We’re confident someone will sign him. It’s just a matter of who and when.”
This could mean that Delgado joins a team at mid-season if and when openings emerge around the league at first base or DH. Two of Delgado’s former teams, the Marlins and Mets have some interest.
The 37-year-old is 27 homers away from reaching 500 for his career. Delgado hit 38 homers in 2008 and posted a .914 OPS in 112 plate appearances last year before undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right hip.
I’m all for re-signing Delgado but adding another first baseman will just make a muddy situation even worse. The Mets will pit the incumbent yet inexperienced Daniel Murphy, against Fernando Tatis, Mike Jacobs, Frank Catalanotto, Nick Evans, and future first baseman Ike Davis this spring. Only three in that group will most likely make the team.
It will be interesting to see if Delgado will get an offer by the All-Star Break, whether it be with the Mets, Marlins, Blue Jays, or any other team.
