Alou Hopes To Return To Mets In ’08

The Mets have an interesting decision on their hands with Moises Alou, though it’s not exactly the team’s primary concern right now.  That won’t stop us from talking about it!

Alou has a franchise-record 30 game hitting streak going as a 41 year-old.  Since the start of 2006, he’s hit a monstrous .322/.373/.551 in 655 ABs.  The problem is that he’s shown he’s only good for 90-100 games per year due to injuries.

In this day and age one can place a dollar value on such production.  The numbers say Alou is roughly a 3.5 win player in the time he’s active.  Last I heard a win was worth around $2.1MM – maybe a little extra to the Mets as a perennial contender.  So let’s say Alou is worth $7.5MM even given a chunk of missed time.  That makes the 2008 decision fairly easy – his option is for exactly that amount.  The $1MM buyout pushes the decision even closer to exercising it.

Earlier in September, Alou said he’d retire if the Mets didn’t pick up the option.  Alou’s tune hasn’t completely changed – he said "I don’t think so" when asked today if he’d continue playing if the Mets declined his option.  However, he seems undecided and may try another club closer to his home in the Dominican Republic.

I don’t see the Marlins bringing him back, but the Braves could make sense.  DHing for the Rangers could work as well.  Still, the most likely outcome is the Mets exercising the option.