NEW YORK (AP) -Options were exercised Friday on New York Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado and Boston pitcher Tim Wakefield, preventing them from becoming free agents.
Delgado receives $12 million next year and Wakefield $4 million.
Following a terrible start, the 36-year-old Delgado hit .308 with 27 homers and 80 RBIs in 84 games from June 27 on. That left him with a final average of .271 with 38 homers and 115 RBIs.
“Carlos is a key part of our plans for 2009, and we wanted to let him know as quickly as allowed that we wanted him back,” Mets general manager Omar Minaya said in a statement.
New York had until next Wednesday to exercise the option. If the Mets had declined, they would have owed a $4 million buyout.
Wakefield, a 42-year-old knuckleballer, was 10-11 with a 4.13 ERA in 30 starts this year, his 14th season with Boston. He is second in club history with 1,797 strikeouts.
Toronto exercised a $2.5 million option on catcher Rod Barajas, who hit .249 with 11 homers and 49 RBIs.
e hit .213 with four homers and 21 RBIs in 61 games.
Oakland declined its $3 million option on left-hander Alan Embree, and Milwaukee declined its $3.4 million option on infielder Craig Counsell, who gets a $400,000 buyout.
The Chicago Cubs declined a $3 million option on catcher Henry Blanco, who gets a $300,000 buyout, and the Pittsburgh Pirates turned down a $2.6 million option on outfielder Jason Michaels. They were among 42 players who filed for free agency Friday, raising the total to 107 in two days.
Pitchers Curt Schilling of Boston, John Smoltz of the Atlanta Braves and Pedro Martinez of the New York Mets were in the group that filed Friday.
Approximately 70 more players are potentially eligible to file by the Nov. 13 deadline. Free agents can start negotiating money with all teams the following day.
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