Florida bags Delgado
 

http://mlb.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/mlb/ne..._mlb&fext=.jsp

Marlins just signed Delgado to a four-year, $52 million deal. This will be huge for Florida but in a tough division they will still have a rough ride. Personally, as a Jays fan, i'm just depressed he's gone and hope the leauge impliments a cost certainty system before eveybody leaves and baseball folds in Toronto, like it did in Montreal.

Cost certainty in the MLB is about as likely as being struck by lightning, twice, then winning the lottery

But as a Jays fan, I share your sentiments

It would be nice to see MLB have a rule like the NFL has with the "franchise tag" where a team can apply that tag to a free agent to prevent their top player for bolting. Then they must pay the "franchise" player the average salary of the top five players at the position or 120 percent of the player's salary cap number from the previous season, whichever is higher. Yes, this can be costly, but it is only year-by-year, and it is much easier for a team to gather money to pay a player a high one-year deal then it is to make the financial room for a long term, high dollar deal. It sucked that KC had to deal Beltran last year, Oakland lose Giambi a few years ago, etc.

I wish their was better support for the Marlins in Florida, though I don't blame fans after Wayne Huizenga dismantled the team after their first title.

I hoped Baltimore would sign Delgado, which would have been a bright spot in a horrible off-season.

I think the Orioles could have signed him, had they made a decent offer before the bidding war began. But, it's about what I have come to expect from the once proud O's. More disappointment.

That is certainly going to help Florida get to the playoffs, being a Cubs, and lets say they make it to the playoffs, its just going to be that much harder for them.

Orioles had the only offer on the table for a month until Beltran got signed. They went all the way up to 4/48 before dropping out.

There is no way Delgado will be with the Marlins in four years. He gets paid $4M this year, $12.5M next year, $13.5M in 2007, and $16M in 2008, plus an option for 2009 at another $16M. They can't afford that. Loria must think he bought the Dolphins, and can just cut a player who gets too expensive.

Of course, they'll probably be in Las Vegas in four years so it won't matter.

No big player is a lifetime player for a team anymore. There is just too much greed and not enough pride in who their playing for anymore.

damn, talk about a backloaded contract.

Let's see:

Wrong side of 30, check
Injury history, check
Big, backloaded contract, check
Moved from extreme hitters park to extreme pitchers park, check (you could even call it a hitter's division to a neutral to pitcher's division)

This deal has potential for disaster written all over it.

Franchising players ruins the concept of free agency.

If their best offer for Beltran was 4/$48M then they were never serious about signing him. That's more than $3M/yr under what anyone thought the lowest he'd sign for would be.

I was talking about Delgado.

They made an offer around the time of the winter meetings, but Delgado's agent waited until Beltran was signed until he got serious about shopping Delgado.

But what was their initial offer? I think it was 25 for 3 yrs. You can't really think they would take that seriously?
If they had made a respectable offer, at least he might have considered it.

Sorry, I thought you meant that was their offer to Beltran. lol. The 4/48 for Delgado is actually more than he got from Fla!

I do want to revise my earlier statement about Delgado becoming an albatross for the team. If they can trade him after the first of second year it works great. Otherwise I think it's a bad deal for the fish.

The Marlins are the team to beat in the NL, right now. They finally have the tools to dethrone the Braves atop the NL East. The Mets, even with their offseason moves, are still at least a distant third and maybe even fourth, depending on whether Philly shows up this season. You can very easily make the argument that they have the best pitching staff from top to bottom in either league. There's nothing this team can't do. They have speed, power, can field, and are young.

If only anyone in their home city actually gave a shit...

-Mikey

hope he likes it when they move to vegas. sorry still bitter that he is no longer a jay. we over paid him for years, now he says all he wants is to play for a winner. after turning down a trade last year to a contender!!!!!!!!!!!i love how he says he wanted to play for a winner. the yankee's and boston wanted him, why not go there. oh wait, it was about money, not winning. sorry rant over. :-(

Well no arguing the guy's a punk, just saying the Marlins are going to be very very competitive with him as the final piece of their lineup. He blocked the deadline trade to stick it to the Jays so they couldn't get anything back for him when he signs as a free agent during the offseason and they're left with nothing in return. Remember, this is also the guy who made a big show of sitting in the dugout during the national anthem.

-Mikey

They can have him. He's a great hitter but he's a terrible and lazy baserunner, also he's absolutly brutal on defense. The good outweighs the bad for Delgado(minus the money) but it will be nice that the jays will have a solid defensive infield for once. Koskie should should be a good pickup and will help fill the hole. If Hinske can live up to his rookie season, if Rios can keep it up and devlope some power, and if Wells keeps up the good work we should have no problem with our bats. I welcome the defensive upgrade.

I'll still miss the excitment of his homers though, man did he hit some massive ones. Everytime he stepped to the plate you felt he was going to hit one out............or strike out. either one.