Mets finally rid themselves of Cedeno

By Jim Callis
April 3, 2004

The Mets closed the book on one of their biggest recent blunders on Saturday when they shipped Roger Cedeno to the Cardinals for journeymen Chris Widger and Wilson Delgado. Neither Widger nor Delgado may stick with New York, but the Mets were so determined to dump Cedeno that they agreed to pick up nearly $9 million of the $10 million remaining on the final two years of his contract.

New York initially was ecstatic when it signed Cedeno to a four-year, $18 million deal in December 2001. But the Mets quickly learned that Cedeno was miscast as a center fielder and leadoff hitter, quickly soured on his attitude and also saw him lose a step from his speed—his lone plus tool. He hit .267/.320/.378 with seven homers and 37 RBIs in 148 games last year, and his 14 steals (in 23 attempts) were his lowest since becoming a regular in 1999. (That year he hit .313/.396/.408 with 66 steals for the Mets, which may explain why they were so hot to sign him as a free agent after subsequently dealing him to the Astros.) The 29-year-old Cedeno does take advantage of his speed by employing a ground-ball approach at the plate, but he isn't patient enough to get on base at an acceptable rate. Defensively, he's a liability because he takes poor routes on fly balls, though his arm is a tick above average. St. Louis values Cedeno as an insurance policy for its starting outfield, which includes Ray Lankford (who didn't play last year) and the oft-injured Jim Edmonds and Reggie Sanders.

Widger, 32, initially was placed on the Mets' big league roster but is expected to be assigned to Triple-A. If that happens, he can ask to be granted free agency. He's a garden-variety backup catcher whose best tool is his power. He batted .235/.279/.324 with no homers and 14 RBIs in 44 games for St. Louis last year and is a career .242/.299/.403 hitter with 50 homers and 202 RBIs in 532 contests. He's adequate behind the plate.

Delgado, 31, got into 62 games as a utility infielder with the Cardinals and Angels last year, hitting .228/.293/.252 with no homers and seven RBIs. He has no particular strength and won't play a major role, if any, on the Mets. A career .238/.297/.291 hitter with three homers and 30 RBIs in 412 big league at-bats over 211 games, he'll open 2004 at Triple-A Norfolk.