Why replacing Delgado has no easy solution

May 20, 12:34 AMNew York Mets ExaminerAndrew Mees

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Delgado can't get back soon enough.

You don't know what you've got till it's gone.

In the wake of Carlos Delgado's hip surgery, we can finally see what the Mets look like without him.  And it isn't pretty.

A player's importance can be measured by how difficult it is to replace him, and 30-homer, 100 RBI cleanup hitters don't exactly grow on trees. 

Such is the dilemma facing Omar Minaya as he goes through the options at his disposal.  While he has numerous avenues to pursue, nearly all of them lead to dead ends.

He'll first look to promote from within, as he stated in a conference call with reporters earlier today.  They can move Daniel Murphy - a player they feel may eventually assume the position and is struggling defensively in left field - to first, but that will further delay his development as an outfielder, and make him an even bigger defensive liability once Delgado returns. 

Fernando Tatis can play the position, but playing him every day weakens the bench considerably.  Alex Cora, another viable option, is now on the shelf for the forseeable future with a torn ligament in his thumb.  Jeremy Reed has been seeing consistent time at the position for the first time in his playing career, and as we saw last night, cannot be expected to make routine plays, let alone be a solid solution.

With Tatis the best available body to fill the void, he will have to look outside the organization at teams looking to trade first basemen with pop.  How many first basemen will be available that can give you 30 homers, 100 RBI, and an undeniable presence in the lineup?  All those guys are playing on contending teams, and none of them are going anywhere.

Aubrey Huff and Nick Johnson have been listed as possibilities the club might pursue, but what do you do with them when Delgado returns?  Huff has played 245 games in the outfield over his career, so he would be the better option of the two.  But if you do attempt to swing a deal for him, you would then have Ryan Church, Gary Sheffield, Murphy, Reed and Carlos Beltran in the outfield, in addition to Huff.  Johnson would be rendered useless upon Delgado's return assuming he comes back healthy, so the logistics of a trade simply don't make sense in either situation.

Another option is to trade for a high-level utility player, which might actually be the best route of all.  ESPN's Buster Olney suggested the Indians' Mark DeRosa this afternoon, a player who would be an outstanding fit.  But even if Minaya decided to pursue a player like this, we can't be sure he even has the prospects to get a deal done.  Any team looking to deal will want high-level prospects in return, most likely pitching prospects.  Dillon Gee and Brad Holt come to mind, but are they enough to get a deal done?. 

What's worse, none of these options can match Delgado's production, so do you want to dig further into an already depleted farm system to make another trade, for a player that may be of no use to you in two months?

This is the pickle Minaya finds himself in.  One semi-attractive option in-house in Tatis, and unless he decides to get extremely creative, no logical way to pursue a trade.  It took an injury for us to realize just how important Carlos Delgado was to this team. Now, fans that took him for granted will be counting down the days until he returns.