Party like it's 1999 by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox sign Carlos Delgado to minor league deal


(Ken Rosenthal on Twitter) -- Source: Carlos Delgado agrees to minor-league deal with #RedSox. Must be in majors by Sept. 1 or he can become free agent.

In search of a lefty bat to compliment Mike Lowell at first base, the Red Sox have apparently signed yet another over-the-hump first baseman coming off of hip surgery.

One of my earliest memories of baseball at Fenway Park was with my dad during a day game against the Toronto Blue Jays in the late 90's.

Carlos Delgado was matched up against Pedro Martinez, and I remember him taking one of the hardest uppercut swings I had ever seen in my life.

"Can you even do that, Dad?" I asked. "He doesn't hit 40 a year swinging like a girl," my dad told me.

His days of blasting 40-plus homers may be behind him, but we are talking about a guy who hit 38 home runs just two years ago, prior to having surgery performed to repair a torn labrum in his hip.

Delgado, a career .280 hitter in 17 major league seasons, is 27 homers shy of the illusive 500-home run plateau.

According to Rosenthal, Delgado will be paid at rate of $20,000 per month while playing with Pawtucket, and will receive a pro-rated portion of $3 million if and when he is called to the majors. As part of his signing, the Red Sox have agreed not to offer him arbitration at the end of the year.

If Delgado is not called to the majors by the first of September when the rosters expand, he can and will opt out to become a free agent again.

Rosenthal continues to report that "Delgado also would get $75,000 for winning ALCS MVP and $100,000 for World Series MVP."

The 38-year-old Delgado has not played a major league game since May 10, 2009 with the New York Mets.

-Jared Carrabis

Published on August 07, 2010

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