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Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post says that Omar Minaya hopes to travel to Puerto Rico to see Carlos Delgado in Winter Ball next month.
…i like Delgado and i always have liked Delgado but i agree with Matt in that it’s time to move on and get younger and more athletic…i fear that if the Mets bring him back for another year, he just won’t be durable or dependable enough…
Yesterday, Carlos Beltran told reporters at an event in Harlem that he would like to see Delgado return next season, which you can read about here.
In addition, Hubbuch says that the Mets are expecting “a glut” of non-tendered players in December, and will look hard at them as they become available.
…the way the economics of baseball have changed, being non-tendered these days isn’t always performance based…it’s not to say that the Mets shouldn’t pursue the marquis free agent class or make trades for upgrades, but there are often economic reasons as to why a team might non-tender a productive player…
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To me, there are situations in which bringing back Delgado would be appropriate, and others that aren’t.
If Omar’s idea of a big offseason is simply bringing back Carlos, than no thanks.
However, if Omar makes upgrades to the rotation and LF, with impact talent (i.e. some combo of Lackey, Wolf, Holliday, Crawford, etc etc), AND Delgado proves he is healthy in winter ball, while willing to accept an incentive type deal with a rougly $5m base, then you absolutely do it. Why? We all know what a healthy Delgado is capable of, especially when you consider his replacement in Murph. In the event that Carlos doesn’t produce, then Murph is still there to fall back on. The Mets aren’t going to get any compensation for him anyway, so why not roll the dice?
Personally, I’d have no problem with having him back, but again, under the right circumstance.
That all being said, I would LOVE to have Adrian Gonzales manning 1st base for the Mets….
Lord, here we go again. What is this obsession with Delgado? We have a guy who hit .300, played OK defense, made $6M, was a team player- and every posting is “how much do we have to pay to get rid of Castillo”? Then we have a guy who made $12M, fields like a blind Sumo wrestler, barely played, and LEFT EARLY TO CHILL AT HOME while the team was losing. Hell, let’s sign him up for a ten-year contract!
yeah i agree, it’s time to say goodbye to Delgado, he can DH somewhere
I agree ravi. Bringing back Delgado isn’t a bad move if you improve the rotation and LF. If you do that, you buy yourself another year (hello Ike Davis in 2011) and have a relatively cheap 1b situation. Delgado is a proven player with the only stumbling block being his health. If he shows some power and durablility in Winter ball, by all means bring him bakc. Then Murphy can spot him and be a bat off the bench.
For LF I’d target Holliday, Crawford, Bay, Granderson and Rivera in that order. Granderson is an interesting guy. If you could get him for FMart and a pitcher or 2 (not Holt or Mejia) I’d do it in a heartbeat.
Reyes, Castillo/Hudson, Wright, Beltran, Holliday/LF, Delgado/Murphy, Frenchy, C.
I dont necessarily disagree with bringing delgado back, but the thing i dont understand is, everyone is saying how good delgado would be and all that, but does anyone remember just how bad he was before he had that crazy 2nd half? He was absolutely terrible for a year and half before that good 2nd half, so bad that the mets were considering just cutting him at the allstar break of 08, so its not as if u’d be getting a guarenteed 40 HR guy for cheap…theres also a huge chance u just resign him rather then maybe looking for safer options and hes a complete bust
yes, I remember the first half Delgado in ‘08, but that said before he got hurt in ‘09 he didn’t look much different than the 2nd half ‘08 so I guess the question is if Delgado proves healthy in winter ball is it worth it to take a chance and sign him to a 1 year incentive laden deal and give Davis a full season in AAA? Best case he does well, and the Mets try to swing a trade for Gonzo at the deadline and ship Delgado elsewhere. I know it’s kinda a lotta if’s and some wishfull thinking in there but if he’d come back cheap enough wouldn’t you have to atleast look at it?
If you think about it, you really aren’t getting a 40HR guy on the cheap. With the incentive contract, the incentive is for production…Should Delgado actually hit 40HR’s, he’d probably end up pocketing something like $15mil. Should he be a complete bust, then the Mets wouldn’t owe him much money, and could even just cut him if they desired.
As for safer options, I think its fair to say that unless Adrian Gonzales or Prince Fielder end up in Queens, Murph will be the starting 1b-man, and a healthy Delgado is simply a better player.
You are right though – he played poorly for the year and a half prior to his 2nd half, but he has always been streaky. Even in ‘06, he started and ended the year on fire, cooling off in the summer months. He is a streaky player – it happens. However, when he was on in 2008, he pretty much carried the team on his back from July – September. Other guys may have been hitting, but it was only when Delgado came around did the team actually go somewhere.
couple points:
1) you can’t do incentives for production, only stuff like games played, ABs, etc. So hitting 40 HRs would be a bonus, but they wouldn’t have to pay extra for it!
2) Besides, if he did put up 40/120+, you would probably be happy to fork over the 15mill.
3) The beauty of delgado (as yo unote) is, if he is good, great. If not, play Murphy anyway. So really, they have little to lose
4) I think his problem in 2008 was more to do with his wrist (surgery, right?) that killed his swing. he had the hip for a while, and as 2009 showed, it didn’t seem to hurt his output (at least while he could play with the pain). The wrist though killed his power.
Delgado is a good player but he is too old now and should be a DH.
If other options at 1B fail, and Delagdo accepts a 1 year incentive laden deal, you sign him. Why would anyone be against that?? Fact is, if he comes back…
1) Rips the ball, great
2) Sucks – Put Murphy back at 1B
3) gets hurt, Put Murphy back at 1B
More than moving on from his production is moving on from what is definitely a divided clubhouse in which he is the defacto leader. I bet if he is gone, you will see Wright step up in a similar way to when Shockey got hurt and Eli Manning stepped up. Beltran and Reyes look up to Delgado. What we need is a new voice to rock the boat a bit. Wagner and Lo Duca said things in the past that were clamped up by Bernazard, Minaya & Co. Losing Delgado is a good first step in changing the culture of the Mets.
Clubhouse issues only surface when the team is losing. Nobody had anything to say in 2006. I could care less about bringing in a voice to rock the boat…I’d rather a bat to rock the ball…..Carlos can do that.
I disagree…there were reports that the clubhouse was divided and his was a very strong and influential voice in that clubhouse.
The Mets need to move beyond these types of guys. If he signs in the NL…Delgado won’t make it to June 1st.
You mean the same guy who was a integral part of the 2006 team that was 1 swing away from the world series?
Seriously, we are not talking about Milton Bradley here. Gimme a break.
Delgado is a good guy and does great charity work…he’s not a bad guy.
They didn’t win anything but a division title in 2006…why people refer to it with such reverance makes no sense. The three years that followed have been a Shakespearean tragedy on the field and he was as big a part of that as anyone else.
That clubhouse was divided, the team choked and then they hung it all on Willie. Delgado was one of the leaders of that club.
They need a new voice and leader in the clubhouse. Let this guy go already.
You are right about 2006 not accomplishing much but he WAS a big part of that team who would have won the world series had Beltran delivered in his last AB. To paint this guy as some clubhouse problem is dumb. Why aren’t Wright, beltran or Reyes the clubhouse problems? Willie managed himself into a Choke job in 2007 thats why he was fired. Period.
Fact is, if this guy can hit and play 120 games for us next year, we are a better team.
Furthermore, 2007 was a choke job by the team. 2008 Delagdo was hurt half the season but almost got us into the playoffs if it weren’t for the chokers we had in the bullpen. 2009 he wasn’t around.
I am with you, if they can get alternative, you let him walk. But if i have no options except murphy (who I like) and Delgado is willing to come back for a 1 year cheap deal, of course you bring him back.
He is bad in the Clubhouse is nonsense.
I would only consider him AFTER looking at the non-tendered market and obviously the adrian gonzalez market. But a 1 year contract with a very low based with lots of incentives couldnt hurt financially or in terms of the team since Murph can start the year in AAA then slot in if anything goes wrong.
the problem with Delgado is that he isn’t a leader … show me where he was …
now, if he is a fall back plan, if the trade route doesn’t work AND we get a reduced rate with him — i can deal with it for a year.
but there is a part of me that would prefer Murphy to Delgado, even though Murphy can’t bring in the RBIs that Carlos can.
Go away please.