MLB.com is reporting that the Mariners have decided to part ways with struggling 1B Richie Sexson. After signing a lucrative 4 year 64m contract with the Mariners, Sexson has been a huge disappointment for them. He is hitting only .218 with 11 homers and 30 rbi this year.

If Delgado hadn’t started to hit like he has thus far in July, I would have said to take a flier on Sexson. As our own Andrew Beaton noted earlier in June, while Sexson is hitting around the mendoza line versus right handers, he is hitting well above .300 versus lefties. It is something to keep on, if Delgado were to begin to struggle again.

Update 7/17 - 4:15 p.m. by Gary Grund - The Yankees have reached a tentative agreement to sign first baseman Richie Sexson, according to a report by Buster Olney of ESPN. The six-foot eight right-hander is batting .344 with 5 home runs and 12 runs batted in against left-handed pitchers.

According to Kirby Arnold of HeraldNet, the Mariners will likely release 1B Richie Sexson within the next few days.  Seattle has a record of 25-46, easily the worst in baseball.  The Mariners began the hiring/firing season earlier this week when they fired GM Bill Bavasi, replacing him with interim GM is Lee Pelekoudas. 

In his 12 year career, Sexson has had six 100+ RBI season, and six seasons with 30+ HRs.  However, Sexson only had 21 HRs and 63 RBIs last year in 121 games, while batting a poor .205.  So far this year, Sexson has continued his struggles and is batting .219. 

I think Sexson might be worth a flier for the Mets when cut he’s cut.  Our bench production has been miserable, and unlike Carlos Delgado, Sexson bats righty. 

Despite his .219 batting average, Sexson is batting .349 vs. lefties this season. 

So, a Delgado/Sexson platoon would work pretty well at 1B, plus Sexson would be a great power pinch hitter late in games vs. lefties.  As of now, the Mets lack any pinch hitter with a lot of pop on the bench. 

Hat tip to MLBTR for the link. 

While the Mets are downplaying Carlos Delgado’s injury, which was concerning enough for them to fly him out for an MRI, they need to consider the options available in case this becomes a real issue.

Buster Olney on his blog for ESPN lists Nick Johnson, Scott Hatteberg, Richie Sexson, Tony Clark and Kevin Millar as possible insurance policies if Delgado’s hip stinger, which kept him out of multiple games last season, causes him to miss more time.

On his blog for the Journal News, John Delcos writes that Delgado is back in camp after going to NYC for his MRI. Delgado said he felt something catching in his hip, and he could “make it hurt,’’ by twisting and rotating in the area.

Delgado said he’s going to give it a few days to rest and admitted he had some discomfort in his hip in the off-season.

Delgado is in his walk year, and many are expecting him to make his case for still being an offensive force in the majors. He might feel he can still hit, but will his body deny him the ability to prove it?

The Mets shouldn’t wait to find out, there are no real first base back ups on this team. Marlon Anderson would appear to be the most likely candidate, but his best asset is his pinch hitting abilities.