Mike Silva's New York Baseball Digest » Blog Archive » Delgado Plays 1B in Puerto Rico

Delgado Plays 1B in Puerto Rico


By Mike Silva ~ January 11th, 2010. Filed under: Mike Silva, Offseason Speculation.

Looking at some winter league box scores from last night it appears Carlos Delgado played first base for Gigantes de Carolina down in Puerto Rico.

He was 0-2 with a walk and was replaced in the field in the Top of the fifth inning.

Obviously we don’t know if that is a good or bad sign, but it’s been reported widely, including here, the Mets are very interested in bringing Delgado back if he can move around on the field and the bases. The team was to be in attendance last night so I am not surprised Delgado pick yesterday to make his fielding debut.

So far he has a .950 OPS in winter ball hitting .353 with 1 HR and 2 RBI.

Howard and I talked about Delgado on last night’s show. Time is running short for Delgado to prove himself. Remember, pitchers and catchers are reporting in less than 40 days. It’s very likely the Mets will be forced to make a decision on Delgado with incomplete information. Five innings at first base isn’t much of a sample to judge whether he can play 130 games at the position.

Also, what kind of contract can he expect? Aubrey Huff signed with San Francisco yesterday for 1 year and $3 million dollars. Maybe you offer that kind of deal with some incentive plan.

Here is another thought: Adam LaRoche doesn’t seem to have a market. At what point do the Mets consider LaRoche on a one year deal? He, unlike Delgado, is coming off a productive and healthy 2009. It may become a fair question.

Personally, I sign Delgado to a deal if it’s reasonable (see Huff), even if it turns out he needs a month in AAA to get in shape for the field. I see no reason why he can’t provide the kind of power the Mets lack at first base. Last year, as it has been said here before, the Mets got 16 homers and 91 RBI out of first base. Can Daniel Murphy do that alone? I don’t think so, plus Murphy off the bench strengthens that part of the ballclub.

I have a feeling we will see a Carlos Delgado decision within the next 10 days. Just my guess.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com
Mike Silva
View all posts by Mike Silva
Mikes website

Post to Twitter Post to Yahoo Buzz Post to Delicious Post to Digg Post to Facebook

Tags: , , , , ,

«
»

3 Responses to Delgado Plays 1B in Puerto Rico

  1. Mark P
    January 11th, 2010 at 7:52 am

    If Delgado is so promising, why aren’t we hearing that other teams are also giving a look?
    Murphy has done nothing but improved the more he has played. He also has made a very good effort to do his best and improve. If you play him off of the bench, that will be the demise of his improvement and discourage his efforts. Is he the answer for years to come? Probably not, but benching him to give their friend Delgado one more risky chance would be a mistake. Knowing Minaya, he’ll add resigning Delgado to his other mistakes unfortunately.

  2. Mike Silva
    January 11th, 2010 at 8:02 am

    Baltimore is interested Mark, not sure if that matters one way or another.

    I just think its a stretch to ask Murphy to give you the kind of production that first base needs. If he doesn’t any injuries, or regression from Castillo, Francoeur, or the catching spot will make this team very light offensively.

  3. R U Kidding
    January 11th, 2010 at 9:56 am

    5 games and 39 innings at 1B in a winter league? Sure that’s enough, Omar will give him 6 million (Cora got 2!). If he breaks down they have Murphy and he’s improving (300 hitter in 08,265 in 09!). Laroche sounds better and better to me, 2 years 18 million.

Leave a Reply