Marlins' Delgado bound for Mets

NEW YORK -- Carlos Delgado is headed to the Mets, 10 months after he spurned New York to sign with the Florida Marlins.

The Mets reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday to acquire Delgado and $7 million from the Marlins for first baseman Mike Jacobs and minor league pitcher Yusmeiro Petit, a baseball official familiar with the talks said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deal was not final.

"We're very happy because we will have Delgado in our organization. It's a matter of hours before he becomes a Mets player," Tony Bernazard, special assistant to Mets general manager Omar Minaya, said on Puerto Rican radio station WIAC. "I can't give any details, but I'm sure everything will have a happy ending for us."

It was the second big, tentative deal struck this week by the payroll-slashing Marlins, who also have a pending agreement to send 2003 World Series MVP Josh Beckett to the Boston Red Sox for three prospects. The two trades would cut Florida's payroll, which was $60 million at the start of last season, by about $27 million next year.

New York would receive $7 million from the Marlins as part of the trade to offset the $48 million Delgado is owed over the next three seasons. The first baseman turned down the Mets' offer last January to accept a $52 million, four-year contract from the Marlins, who did not offer the no-trade clause contained in the Mets' deal.

The commissioner's office, which must approve the trade because more than $1 million is changing hands, will make the final decision.

The 25-year-old Jacobs batted .310 with 11 homers and 23 RBIs in 100 at-bats with the Mets, who brought him up from the minors in mid-August. Petit, a right-hander who turned 21 Tuesday, went 9-3 with a 2.91 ERA in 21 starts at Double-A Binghamton, then went 0-3 with a 9.20 ERA in three starts at Triple-A Norfolk. During spring training, Delgado hit a three-run double off Petit.

While striking the Delgado deal, New York also was wooing closer Billy Wagner, who completed a two-day visit Tuesday. The Mets offered the free agent a three-year contract worth just more than $30 million, a deal containing an option for 2009 that could increase the package to $40 million.

Philadelphia is trying to re-sign the four-time All-Star.

Phillies trade Thome

The Philadelphia Phillies reached a preliminary agreement Wednesday to send Jim Thome and cash to the World Series champion Chicago White Sox for center fielder Aaron Rowand.

The deal is subject to the players passing physicals, the Phillies and White Sox said. Because of the cash involved, it also must be approved by the commissioner's office. The Phillies are giving the White Sox $22 million as part of the deal, a baseball official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Thome, an oft-injured first baseman, is owed $43.5 million in the final three seasons of his $85 million, six-year contract. He hit .207 with seven homers and 30 RBIs in just 193 at-bats last season and became expendable after the emergence of Ryan Howard, who won the NL Rookie of the Year award.

Rowand batted .270 with 13 homers and 69 RBIs for the White Sox last season. He will make $3.25 million next year, and his contract includes a $3.25 million player option for 2007. If Rowand declines, his club can exercise the option at $5 million.

-- From wire reports