The previous time Carlos Delgado had to miss a game because of his ailing right hip, he could not come back right away. Delgado missed four games before returning, and now that he was out of the Mets’ lineup last night, he may be out for a few more days.
Unfortunately for the Mets, Delgado’s hip is becoming a serious issue, one that has Jerry Manuel alarmed — for good reason.
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“It’s a concern for me,” Manuel said before last night’s series opener vs. the Braves at Citi Field.
Delgado was too sore to be in the lineup last night and Manuel does not expect him to play tonight, either. The first baseman has an inflamed hip joint and that might not be all. GM Omar Minaya also mentioned tendinitis as a possibility.
Delgado has had an MRI exam, and although Alex Rodriguez, Mike Lowell and Chase Utley have had major hip problems that required surgery, Delgado and Minaya each said Delgado doesn’t have a torn labrum. If that’s the case, that’s obviously good in terms of the injury’s severity.
But at the same time, Delgado is a critical piece of the Mets’ lineup, and if he’s going to have to miss time throughout the year, head to the disabled list, or play in a diminished capacity, it’s a serious problem for the Amazin’s.
“It was pretty sore the last couple days but good enough to play. It’s pretty sore today,” Delgado said last night.
Delgado said he wasn’t sure how long he’d be out: “If I feel like I can’t help the team, I have to take a day.”
When he suffered the injury two weeks ago, Delgado missed four games, then pinch hit in the fifth before returning to full-time action. The Mets play tonight and tomorrow at home before heading off on a road trip against the Giants, Dodgers and Red Sox. They are hopeful Delgado is back for that trek.
One question is whether putting Delgado on the disabled list would alleviate the problem. Delgado said that was a possibility, but didn’t want to commit.
“We kind of are playing with that,” he said, “but we want to see how it is tomorrow and the next day.”
Delgado had the same injury last year in spring training, but after he took a cortisone shot, he was fine. He did receive a cortisone shot a couple weeks ago, but this time it has not worked. Even if it did, another question is whether this might recur later in the season or next year.
Minaya said he wasn’t sure whether surgery might be needed to completely eradicate the inflammation.
When Delgado came back after his five-game absence earlier this season, he showed no ill effects offensively. In fact, he was a force, hitting .423 (11-for-26) with one home run and seven RBIs in seven games. He said the recurrence this time was a gradual development not triggered by one play.
Fernando Tatis manned first base last night for the Mets, and figures to be the interim solution, though Manuel also mentioned Jeremy Reed, Alex Cora and Daniel Murphy as options.
Not only are none of those players as valuable as Delgado, but the Mets would be hurting their bench and flexibility if one of them had to play first base.
For now, the Mets need to hope Delgado is back soon, that Manuel’s cause for concern becomes unwarranted.