Several papers are reporting today that the Mets may have a second chance to land first-baseman Carlos Delgado. Delgado is adament about staying in Florida, but the decision might not be his to make if the Marlins decide to clear out some salary. There are three major hurtles here:
- Money. Delgado just completed the first year of a four-year deal worth $52 million. The kicker is that the contract is backloaded -- the Marlins only paid $4 million last year. They would have to kick in some cash (or take back a contract) to make a deal work.
- Division. If the Marlins have no choice but to trade Delgado, you can be sure they will exhaust every other trade opportunity before dealing him within the division.
- Feelings. Delgado and his agent David Sloane insulted the Mets on any number of occasions last season after the Mets' failed efforts to land the slugger. Would the Mets be willing to overlook those comments for an opportunity to land Delgado, a far superior offensive player to free agent Paul Konerko?