"He's as good as it gets as far as being the whole package," Tom Glavine said yesterday of the acquisition of Delgado, via trade with the Marlins, 10 months after the Mets failed to sign the slugging first baseman as a free agent.

"He can beat you with base hits, he can beat you with home runs," Glavine said. "He's your prototypical cleanup guy. He makes any lineup better. Most of us thought last year our team would have been a whole lot different if we had Carlos. Now we do have him."

Noted David Wright, "The moves so far have been unbelievable. Any time you get a player of the caliber of Carlos Delgado, you have to be excited."

The trade, which was diagrammed in yesterday's Post, is still not official, but will be shortly, once the Mets and Marlins agree on how the $7 million that Florida ships to Shea will be distributed.

The Mets sent minor-league right-hander Yusmeiro Petit and big-league first baseman Mike Jacobs to the fire-sale Marlins for Delgado, 33, and the cash.

The Mets will be responsible for the other $41 million left on Delgado's contract over the next three years.

Besides the 369 home runs Delgado lugs to Shea, the Mets love the chemistry he brings to the club.

"Talking to him, you can tell he's a great guy," Wright said. "[The Mets'] Chris Woodward was his teammate in Toronto and he said Carlos is a fantastic teammate. I can't wait to play with him. It's all like a puzzle coming together. You saw the moves [GM] Omar [Minaya] made last year and the moves he made this year, and it's coming together. But we have to go on the field and back it up."

The top of the Met lineup is now fearsome and will most likely look like this: Jose Reyes, Carlos Beltran, Wright, Delgado and Cliff Floyd.

Beltran is the big winner here because he desperately needed a huge bat to make him feel at home. There were times last year when Beltran was overwhelmed by pressure.

"This takes so much pressure off everybody else," Glavine noted. "You have the guy who can anchor your lineup."

And not just the hitters. "Any time you can go into a game and feel like you can hold a team to three runs or less and win, it's a great feeling," Glavine said of the added punch.

Jack McKeon managed Delgado last season and has seen many sluggers in his 57 years in the pro game.

"First of all, Carlos is an offensive force and a good guy in the clubhouse," said McKeon, who turned 75 yesterday. "He's low key, a good team player, and a good clutch hitter. Even though he was booed in New York, he'll have no problems there. He'll have the fans warmed over right quick. He'll hit some balls out of sight."

The Mets still have work to do. No. 1 on the list is signing free-agent closer Billy Wagner. They are also pursuing a trade for Alfonso Soriano, pitching help and a catcher. Minaya has the cash and the chips to play such high-stakes poker.

"So far it looks good," Glavine said. "If we can land Billy, a catcher, and a little more bullpen help, it will be great. There's no question, though, getting Carlos today, it increases your standing and it's a great start to the winter."

In addition to his baseball power, Delgado is strong in his beliefs and has drawn criticism for his anti-war stance.

"The reason why I didn't stand for 'God Bless America' was because I didn't like the way they tied 'God Bless America' and 9/11 to the war in Iraq in baseball," Delgado explained last year.

"I say God bless America, God bless Miami, God bless Puerto Rico and all countries until there is peace in the world."