Alou

[Guest Johnny Dickshot]

Hurts lefties.

]Mets move closer to landing Alou Posted: Saturday November 18, 2006 6:32PM; Updated: Saturday November 18, 2006 6:36PM By Jon Heyman, SI.com NEW YORK -- The New York Mets are closing in a deal to sign free agent outfielder Moises Alou, SI.com has learned. It is believed the deal could be for one year plus an option. An announcement could come early next week, after the physical. Alou, 40, is expected to replace Cliff Floyd in left field and could also free up Lastings Milledge to move in trade. The Mets never entered the high-priced Alfonso Soriano or Carlos Lee derbies. The signing is something of a coup for the Mets, as the bidding was spirited for Alou, a career .301 hitter with a lifetime .516 slugging percentage. The Texas Rangers and Cleveland Indians are believed to have made two-year offers for more money. The Oakland A's were reportedly also looking at Alou as a potential replacement for Frank Thomas, who signed with Toronto. Barry Bonds is another player Oakland will consider. The Mets' deal with Alou is believed to include a team option for 2008 and a buyout. The Mets badly wanted another big right-handed bat, and Alou slugged .571 last year. He is a versatile hitter and can bat almost anywhere in a lineup but looks likely to bat behind rising star David Wright with the Mets. While Alou was limited to 98 games in 2006, he is generally seen as sturdier than Floyd, the man he replaces. Floyd had hoped to return, but the Mets preferred a right-handed bat and a less-injury prone player. General manager Omar Minaya has long been an admirer of Alou's, and the Mets have targeted Alou for months and actually had a trade in place last July before the Giants decided they were too close to the race to sign off on it. Alou his .301 last year with 22 home runs and 74 RBIs.

[Centerfield]

Well this sucks.

I didn't realize that one of the goals this offseason was to field as old a team as possible.

[A Boy Named Seo]

ESPN:

]Reports: Mets close to signing outfielder Alou ESPN.com news services At the end of the Mets' playoff run last season, Cliff Floyd said he wanted to return to the team. It now looks like New York will replace their oft-injured left fielder with a player who was also hobbled much of last season. Multiple media outlets in New York reported on Saturday that the Mets were close to completing a deal with free agent Moises Alou. Newsday said the deal would be for at least two years at $8 million annually. The 40-year-old Alou batted .301, hit 22 home runs and drove in 74 runs for the San Francisco Giants last season. But he played in only 98 games due to a variety of injuries, including a back strain. Floyd, who is also a free agent, is coming off Achilles tendon surgery. Alou decided not to entertain offers to return to the Giants, in part because the team did not renew the contract of his father, manager Felipe Alou.

Jeepers creepers.

[DocTee]

Bad deal. Too old and only 1 100-rbi season of late.

[Farmer Ted]

Alou. 2 years. $8 million per? I ned a thorough explanation, Omar. This makes no sense to me.

[DocTee]

Not so fast-- MLB.com says Oakland is in the Alou hunt.

[nymr83]

2 years to Franco, 2 years to el duque, and 2 to Alou? Omar needs to learn when offering a 2nd year is unwise.

]Alou, 40, is expected to replace Cliff Floyd on the disabled list

i fixed the article.

[Guest cooby]

Made me laugh, but alas, it's probably so...

[Guest patona314]

ah fudge!!! but on the bright side, at least he's not sosa.

[Farmer Ted]

If this signing goes through, set a shower aside for Moises. Oh, piss boy...

http://www.slate.com/id/2100652/

[Frayed Knot]

Alou is - or at least can be - a terrific hitter who'll give us RH punch ... but I don't like this a bit.
He's a lousy outfielder who's often injured and can no longer run very well. And how, exactly, do guys previously contemplating retirement suddenly rate two-year deals? I would have preferred Cliff for those terms.

Hey Omar, what happened to 'younger, cheaper & more athletic'?



If true, this also seems to throw Milledge head-long into the trade market.

[Guest sharpie]

I don't mind him for a one-year deal. He can definitely hit. He's right-handed. Yes, he'll spend some time on the dl, yes he doesn't field all that well any more, but year to year he's still an effective player.

[A Boy Named Seo]

ESPN's backed off their report of the 2-year deal (they were citing Newsday as the source), but Newsday's still running with it.

ESPN:

]The deal, worth about $8 million to $9 million, would contain an option for 2009. Alou would have to pass a physical before the contract is finalized. The negotiations were disclosed by a baseball official who spoke on condition of anonymity because talks were ongoing

Newsday:

]The deal could be announced as soon as this week, and it is believed to be a two-year contract worth as much as $8 million annually.

[smg58]

It's an interesting call, but not necessarily a bad one. If the market turns out to be even more player-friendly than 2000, there are reasons not to be the team that makes the big long-term deal. A one year deal for Alou is a safer option than a long-term deal with Lee, for example, and AB for AB Alou will likely be a better hitter next year than Lee. It would also allow the Mets the luxury of giving Milledge another year of seasoning without blocking him indefinitely. So it would be a short-term upgrade with mimimal long-term risk.

[nymr83]

if its really a year then thatsfine but 2 years to a guy who is 40 and deems to get hurt all the time is madness.

[Guest OlerudOwned]

I really would've like 1 year plus an option. 2 years...ehh.

2 years plus an option is just insane.

[A Boy Named Seo]

I don't think anyone's reporting 2 years plus an option, but, yeah, that would be insane.

Thankfully we kept Valentin and signed Easley to keep the team's average age down.

[duan]

thing is; Milledge could do a very good job and get plenty of abs as a RH platoon partner for Shawn Green and a rest partner for Moises Alou.

You don't have to deal him but at least you can if you want to.

The other thing is, if this is genuinely another high water mark in free agent deals (a la A-Rod & Manny year) sticking to 1/2 year deals is the way to do it. Especially when the talent is so mediocre. A 2 year spin on Moises Alou is risky, due to his injury history, but it's a lot better then going 5/6 years on Carlos Lee (as someone might) or paying 136 million to Alfonso Soriano for 8 years as it looks like the cubs will.

[duan]

hey smg!

believe it or not I started my reply a few hours ago, left it and came back to it. Sorry if it seems i'm just parroting yours!

snap!

[Guest Edgy DC]

I was writing something along those lines and pulled out.

The two-year deal (and I'll believe it when I see it, as we've supposedly signed the guy before) may be after hearing further out prices from others.

[Frayed Knot]

ESPN: "The deal, worth about $8 million to $9 million, would contain an option for 2009"

Either that's a typo or it implies the deal is for two years with an option for a 3rd.
Hard to tell.

I'd be less upset with a 1-year deal.

[seawolf17]

Urg. Don't think I like this one at all.

[A Boy Named Seo]

That Soriano thing is outlandish. Alou for 1 or 2 years at a fraction of the price and length of what Soriano got, and what Lee and to a lesser extent Drew will probably get, may not be so bad.

Moises had a higher OPS than all 3 last year.

Just have to keep the old dude healthy.

[nymr83]

I don't worry too much about the dollar sign on 1-year deals, what i worry about is being stuck with an old, injured, overpaid player for more than 1 year.
i'd rather have the Mets throw him 11 million for one year than 8 each for 2 with an option for a 3rd. of course i'd just rather they stayed away.

[smg58]

Well, after the Soriano deal I reiterate my statement that this could be the year to avoid the big long-term deal. I'm really not sure I'd guarantee a second year to Alou, but at this point it's best not to comment further without some official confirmation.

[Zvon]

Alou is one of the most uninspired players Ive ever seen play the game.
Right up there with JD Drew.

This move sucks.

[Farmer Ted]

It looks like Omar is getting as many serviceable parts in the field to go full throttle on starting pitching. I think Zito is coming,

[Guest cleonjones11]

Farmer Ted wrote: It looks like Omar is getting as many serviceable parts in the field to go full throttle on starting pitching. I think Zito is coming,

I'll always so you said it first!

[metsmarathon]

i'm cool with a year for alou. not so much with two years.

it gives us backups at both corner outfield spots who will both have a good chance of permanently replacing the more highly priced vets before the season is over, and who can still provide good defensive replacementing if called on to do so.

that said, one of ben johnson or lastings milledge should be starting the year in AAA, presuming we still have endy around. we will still have endy around, right?

[Frayed Knot]

]Alou is one of the most uninspired players Ive ever seen play the game

I never got that impression from Moises.
Mainly he's just old and immobile as a result of several major leg injuries in his career - one while in Houston and one from way back in his Montreal days - plus a host of less serious ones.