NEW YORK (AP) - The Texas Rangers abruptly withdrew Sunday night from the competition to sign Carlos Delgado and the status of the New York Mets' bid was unclear, perhaps leaving Baltimore and Florida as the remaining contenders to sign the free-agent first baseman.

Texas announced its withdrawal in a statement Sunday. Delgado's agent, David Sloane, said in a telephone interview that the New York Mets also pulled out Sunday during a telephone call he had with chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon and general manager Omar Minaya. But the Mets wouldn't confirm that and said they still were expecting to hear back from Sloane.

With the Rangers, where Delgado would play became an issue Sunday.

"From the first conversation with the Texas Rangers, we made it crystal clear that Carlos Delgado had no interest in being a full-time DH," Sloane said. "If we had 25 conversations with the Texas Rangers, we were told in 24 of those that the question of him playing first base was no issue. Earlier today, we were told that is changing and that 75 percent of his at-bats, should he choose to sign with the Texas Rangers, would come as a DH.

"After three months of negotiations, we were given less than five hours to tell them yes or no, to make a decision that affects not only the rest of Carlos Delgado's baseball career, but the rest of his life."

All four teams have proposed four-year deals to Delgado, although it wasn't known if all four years were guaranteed by all teams. Rangers owner Tom Hicks met with Delgado in Puerto Rico and offered a $48 million, four-year contract.

"Over the last few days, Tom Hicks and the organization reached out and made a very strong offer to Carlos Delgado," Texas general manager John Hart said. "We had a great meeting with Carlos on Friday where we exceeded the limits of our initial proposal. As of this evening, however, we could not get a commitment from him, so we are withdrawing from discussions with him.

"He is a quality individual, but we want to continue to be committed with our young players and development plan. We have a first baseman in Mark Teixeira and other young players that we do not want to disrupt with potential position changes. Tom Hicks is not, and was not, afraid to spend money to add players like Carlos to our club."

Hicks implied that the Rangers didn't want Delgado to use their offer as a springboard.

`We were clear that we were giving it our best shot Friday at the meeting. Others have now raised their offers, which is why we insisted on a deadline late this afternoon," he said in an e-mail to the Associated Press. "We called them this morning to clarify that our interest in Carlos was restricted to him being a DH for 60-70 percent of the time, since we already have a great, young first baseman in Mark Teixeira."

Earlier Sunday, Sloane said Delgado was nearing a decision, one that could come as soon as Monday.

"Following these discussions, we now have a pretty clear picture of the landscape as it presently exists," Sloane said. "We anticipate talking further tomorrow and hope we'll be able to have a final decision very soon."

The 32-year-old Delgado would be counted on to fortify the lineup of whichever team he selects. He hit .269 last season for Toronto with 32 homers and 99 RBI. Delgado and outfielder Magglio Ordonez, who is coming off an injury-shortened season with the Chicago White Sox, are the last elite free agents who remain unsigned.