Delgado Could Miss Opening Day

Carlos Delgado's health should be fine following off season wrist surgery, but he could miss opening day to be with his expecting wife. Monitor his recovery from surgery throughout spring training, but don't let the possibility of him missing the opener stop you from picking up the slugger (9th or 10th ranked at 1B) on draft day.

Delgado has hit 30 or more home runs (40 plus 3 times) for 10 straight seasons and has gone over 100 plus RBI for 7 out of those 10. The three years he failed to drive in more than 100 runs, he drove in 91 (1997), 92 (1996), and 99 (2004--only 128 games played). On draft day, if you are looking for HR & RBI, Delgado is your man. He will also get you around 80-100 runs and 75-100 walks, but the big man won't help you with stolen bases, he hasn't stolen a base since 2002.

The real question is what will be his average? Delgado's (a career .282 hitter) average has been inconsistent throughout his career (he hit .344 in 2000). The last four years he has hit .302, .269, .301, and .265 last year. So if the 4 year trend continues he should hit around .300 this year, which would be a bonus (project around .270-.285). Of course I had him last year on my CBS SportsLine team when he hit .265, thanks Carlos.

From Newsday:

Carlos Delgado says he is "close to 100 percent" after surgery on both his wrist and elbow last November. But the question is not so much whether Delgado will be ready for Opening Night April 1. There's a chance he may not be there anyway when the Mets visit the Cardinals at Busch Stadium.

The hitch in those plans is that Delgado and his wife, Betzaida, are expecting their first child, a son who will be named Carlos Antonio, and the due date is April 1. While predicting the exact timing of the birth is an inexact science, there's one thing for certain: Whenever it is, Delgado will leave the Mets for it.

"If you can tell me, let me know because I'd love to book that flight," Delgado said. "Whatever is the day, I'm going to go."

The good news is that Delgado is feeling better than he has in two years after the pair of operations to fix problems that had lingered since spring training of 2005 with the Marlins.
Source: Newsday