Lastings

Milledge

Milledge was the Mets’ first-round pick last year.

The first-round pick’s negotiations were delayed over allegations of consensual sexual contact with 12- and 13-year-old girls.

The physical wasn’t completed, and no announcement was made. GM Jim Duquette did not return a call yesterday seeking comment. One Mets official said only that Milledge had gone home and the deal wasn’t done.

The home run was his first in 27 games at Double-A. He’s hitting .311/.368/.387 for Binghamton.

There was some thought that Milledge might jump to the majors if Carlos Beltran needed to go on the DL. The 20-year-old is not ready offensively yet, but he is a better defender than the alternatives.

Milledge could play over Endy Chavez the majority of the time, giving him value in NL-only leagues. He’s not ready to contribute in mixed leagues yet.

Milledge hit .233/.287/.413 with a 23/4 K/BB ratio in 86 at-bats during his first stint with the Mets. The club probably won’t use him as regularly as it did then, as Endy Chavez deserves a lot of playing time against right-handers until he stops hitting. Still, Milledge needs to be owned in NL-only leagues, even if his short-term value is pretty limited.

Milledge was again hitting eighth in the contest, which makes zero sense with the team facing a left-hander and Michael Tucker in the starting lineup. If Milledge isn’t a better option against lefties than Tucker, he shouldn’t be in the majors. We’d prefer to see him moved up in the lineup anyway, as it’s probably not the best idea to let a player who needs to work on his selectivity at the plate constantly hit in front of the pitcher.

Also, Oliver Perez will be reporting to Triple-A, as expected. Milledge may not play regularly, as the Mets will want to give the left-handed-hitting Endy Chavez starts against left-handers. Still, he’s a decent pickup in NL-only leagues.

Milledge let a routine fly drop in the first inning, leading to a run for the Marlins. It was nice that he had 75 percent as many walks tonight as he did in his first 24 games in the majors, but he didn’t help his case for playing over Endy Chavez.