If the Mets end up with Carlos Delgado, they may do it in spite of his agent David Sloane.
Late yesterday afternoon, the Mets put their best offer on the table – a walk-away number believed to be around $51 million for four years.
The Mets informed Sloane they weren’t budging one dollar more, even though they fear the Florida-based agent is trying to steer Delgado to the Marlins.
The Mets believe the 32-year-old first baseman has serious interest in playing for them, which is why they offered $1 million more than what Richie Sexson signed for in Seattle.
But after an unbelievable turn of events late Sunday night in which Sloane told various media outlets the Mets were “out” of the Delgado Derby, it was all they could do to swallow their anger and resume negotiations yesterday morning.
The Mets now know their fan base should be convinced they went above and beyond the call of duty to snag Delgado. Thus, sources say the front office no longer has any emotional attachment to the outcome and lined up alternatives yesterday, which included Travis Lee and Doug Mientkiewicz, but not John Olerud.
In case you missed it, Sunday was the craziest Hot Stove day this winter. Texas bowed out via e-mail at just before 10 p.m. because – a source told The Post – the Mets had “created a bidding war that is getting out of hand.”
A source said the Mets were in the lead, but Sloane was indignant about any sort of Sunday night deadline and didn’t want his client to be backed against a wall.
Also, he reportedly was outraged with Mets COO Jeff Wilpon that the Mets wanted the issue resolved before the club’s “Caravan” around New York.
So instead of informing GM Omar Minaya of the status of negotiations, Sloane began informing reporters between 11:20 p.m. and midnight the Mets were no longer in play.
Apparently, he felt ESPN anchor Karl Ravech would relay the message to Minaya via TV.
Most every other agent would have returned the phone call to at least filibuster for more time, someone familiar with negotiations said.
Instead, Mets PR spokesman Jay Horwitz was forced to issue a statement at 12:30 a.m. Monday morning from Minaya indicating the team was unsure of what was going on but was still in the mix.
The Mets didn’t issue another “take-it-or-leave-it” statement to Sloane yesterday, considering how the volatile agent reacted to Sunday night’s ultimatum.
Sloane has arguably handled this negotiation ham-handedly and is coming off as a small-timer.
The Mets, who recently completed a successful negotiation with the notoriously tough Scott Boras, view Sloane unfavorably by comparison.
They aren’t sure he’s representing his client’s best interests.
They also think Delgado would be a financial burden on Florida and would prevent the Marlins from acquiring other help to contend, thereby torpedoing Delgado’s stated desire to play for a winner.
Sloane didn’t offer much publicly yesterday.
“I spoke to the Marlins, Mets and Orioles today regarding our respective proposals,” he wrote to reporters. “Carlos and I also talked about all three offers.
“There will be further discussion tomorrow with all the concerned parties.”
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PITCHERS & CATCHERS
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