NEW YORK -- The New York Mets finally conceded Bobby Bonilla's future with them just wasn't in the cards.

The unhappy outfielder, owed $5.9 million in the final season of his contract, was placed on unconditional release waivers Monday after agreeing to defer his salary for 12 to 36 years at an 8 percent annual interest rate.

	Bonilla

"It was a distraction and a problem we needed to address this offseason," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said.

"This is an agreement that is fair to both parties," added Phillips. "After considering all of our options, we decided this deal was in everyone's best interest. We all would have liked things to turn out differently. It's just time for us to go in another direction."

Bonilla will receive 25 equal payments of $1,193,248.20 each July 1 from 2011 to 2035, according to the revised contract, a total of $29,831,205. That's $831,205 more than the five-year deal he signed with the Mets in December 1991 that made him baseball's highest-paid player at the time.

After he clears waivers Wednesday, any team can sign him.

"Bobby wants to get his 500-600 at-bats, whether it's a DH, first baseman, third baseman or outfielder," his agent, Dan Horwits, said. "Bobby feels that he can still be a valuable asset to any team he would sign with."

Bonilla, who will be 37 this season, hit only .160 last year with four home runs and 18 RBI. Bothered by a knee injury, he had only 119 at-bats.

More significantly, he argued with manager Bobby Valentine and was viewed as a troublemaker by the front office. During the climactic moments of the NL Championship Series against Atlanta, he was in the clubhouse playing cards with Rickey Henderson.

"That's certainly something we don't want any player to do," Phillips said, adding he didn't want to "bash or cast aspersions on Bobby" because "players in the game look at how teams treat other players."

Bonilla originally came to the Mets after the 1991 season, but they traded him to Baltimore after 3½ mostly disappointing seasons. Wanting to drop Mel Rojas, the Mets acquired Bonilla from Los Angeles for the reliever in November 1998.

Bonilla had two seasons left on his contract at $5.9 million. After the tumult of last season, he threatened to cause trouble this year unless he played regularly.

"I was looking for some reason to get me to believe it wasn't going to continue to be a distraction," Phillips said.

Even after Bonilla started last season hurt and in a slump, Phillips had hoped for a turnaround.

"There was time left to see if we could regain some of the value to the asset," Phillips said. "That didn't happen."