Carlos Delgado will remain with the New York Mets for the 2009 season after the Major League Baseball team picked up a one-year, $12 million option on his contract.

If the Mets hadn't exercised the option before Nov. 4, they would have been obligated to pay the 36-year-old first baseman $4 million. That means picking up the option is a net cost of $8 million for the Mets, according to the team's Web site.

Delgado made $16 million this past season, when he led the Mets with 38 home runs, drove in 115 runs and scored 96 times.

Before the team collapsed in the final month to miss the playoffs for the second straight season, Delgado hit 27 homers, drove in 80 runs, and scored 60 times over a stretch in which the Mets won 51 of 85 games.