Despite agent David Sloane, fired recently by Mike Timlin, having burned a bridge with Omar Minaya, there’s still a chance, however remote, for the Mets to obtain Carlos Delgado. From the Palm Beach Post’s Joe Capozzi.

Manager Joe Girardi has a good idea of what next season’s Marlins roster will look like. But Girardi, following the lead of Florida’s front office, isn’t elaborating on whether slugger Carlos Delgado (above) will return.

Delgado’s agent, David Sloane, said he spoke with Assistant General Manager Mike Hill on Wednesday but got no direction on his client’s future..

“I had other issues to discuss about other (minor-league) clients of mine,” he said. “In the course of our conversation, I asked if there was anything new with Carlos, and I was told there was nothing new.”

Delgado said he was told by Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria in September to ignore reports about speculation he could be traded because, he said, Loria told him he would not be traded.

But no one in the front office ” not Loria and not General Manager Larry Beinfest ” has publicly said Delgado will return.

“However, at this point we are going on the basis of what (Marlins owner) Jeffrey Loria told Carlos in Houston (in September), specifically that he wasn’t going to be traded. If we can’t take Jeffrey’s word, nothing else matters because he’s the one who calls the shots.”

Delgado hit 33 home runs in 2005, tying Cabrera for the team lead, and batted.301 with 115 RBI. But he is due $13.5 million in 2006 ” $9.5 million more than he made in 2005, which was the first year of a 4-year deal worth $52 million that he signed in January.

Florida’s silence on Delgado’s future only leads to speculation that the slugger will be shopped this winter as the Marlins look for ways to cut costs in the face of financial problems.

The Marlins could be looking at dumping Delgado’s contract so they can try to sign Willis and Beckett to long-term contracts. Both pitchers are eligible for arbitration this winter.