Delgado will not accept current offers
Could free-agent first baseman Carlos Delgado be this year’s
Pedro Martinez, waiting until after the season begins to sign with
a contender?
Maybe.
Delgado, 37, does not intend to accept any of his current
offers, according to his agent, David Sloane. Instead, he will wait
for the right situation, even if it means joining a team in
midseason.
He does not plan to retire.
“He’s going to continue his strengthening
program, continue working out,” Sloane told FOXSports.com on
Friday. “Every year, teams have issues -- somebody gets hurt,
somebody doesn’t perform. And then they need a bat.
“When that happens, Carlos will be available.
We’re confident someone will sign him. It’s just a
matter of who and when.”
Delgado appeared in only 26 games with the Mets last season
before undergoing arthroscopic surgery to remove a bone spur and
repair a labrum tear in his right hip.
Sloane said that Delgado has received major-league offers,
and that the Mets are among the clubs interested.
“The Mets know his physical situation probably better
than anybody,” Sloane said. “If they had questions, I
can’t imagine they would have taken the time to talk to
us.”
Delgado has two major goals remaining -- to play in his first
World Series and hit the 27 home runs he needs for 500. His best
approach might be to wait for an American League team that could
use him as a first baseman/DH.
Martinez, Delgado’s former teammate with the Mets,
signed with the Phillies last July 15, joined them on Aug. 12 and
wound up pitching in the Series.