After watching the veteran Carlos Delgado work out on Friday at Yankees Stadium, the Sox decided to pull the trigger and sign the lefty 1st baseman. According to Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports on twitter this afternoon, Delgado agreed to a minor league deal with the Red Sox, that includes incentives for post-season success and a clause stating he must be in the majors by Sept. 1st or he can opt to be a free agent. None of those are issues for the Sox because they want the veteran lefty in the big leagues as soon as he is able, to platoon with Mike Lowell, who can’t play every day.
This is a great deal for the Sox because it is low risk, potential high reward. The big question remains surrounding how long it will take Delgado to be up to speed and ready for the bigs, but the Sox obviously liked what they saw from him Friday or they wouldn’t have made the move. Mike Lowell will likely hit against most lefties, with Delgado playing against righties, giving them both time to rest their respective hip issues and infusing the Sox lineup with a better balance on a daily basis. Delgado has a ton of power with 11+ season of 30+ home runs and has 473 career dingers.
Delgado’s contract appears to be $20,000 per month in AAA and a pro-rated $3 million dollar deal in the majors, which is relatively good for such a high potential player. Another huge advantage is Delgado’s experience in the league. He has been playing at the highest level since 1993 and most of his experience came with the Toronto Blue Jays (1993-2004), so he knows the AL East and what it takes to win in baseball’s toughest division. If Delgado can get to the bigs quickly and the Sox can continue to win against New York, he could be just the right fit at just the right time with a shrinking deficit in the AL East and AL Wild Card.
UPDATE: Peter Abraham of the Boston Globe said that Delgado is expected to need approximately 2 weeks to be ready to play in the big leagues.