Moises Alou is old. Old and broken.
The Mets are in desperate need of a left fielder, and with GM Omar Minaya apparently unwilling to catapult Fernando Martinez from AA to the bigs, the spot can go to any host of players already in camp.
The three players who are leading the pack, in order, are Angel Pagan, Endy Chavez and Brady Clark.
Pagan is absolutely tearing up spring training, batting .438 (14-32). The only qualm I have here is that thirteen of those hits are singles, with his first double coming in Fridays game against the Indians. He has driven in 6 runs so far, which is twice as many as the player with the second most. He has shown decent defense in the field, and being one of the only healthy players left on the team, he is getting the opportunity to show what he can do.
Endy is a fan favorite who is trying to recover from a ton of injuries from playing in winter ball. Chavez injured both his hamstrings and his ankle playing in Venezuela. Chavez plans on getting into a game on Saturday, when the Mets have split squad games against the Orioles and the Marlins. Due to his injuries, I think Chavez has fallen out of the top spot for the LF job that would have easily been his had he been healthy coming into Port St. Lucie.
Clark is an interesting case. In his major league career, he has never started anywhere but the outfield, but he has recently expressed interest in working at first base, something that might help him land a job with the Mets. If Clark can keep hitting (.273 AVG, .360 OBP, 2 RBI, 2 runs) and play a decent outfield and first base, he may be able to hang on with the team. Ruben Gotay going down with a sprained ankle might open up a roster spot for Clark to jump in.
Right now, I see the outfield as Pagan/Beltran/Church to start. The Mets have also been exploring options to find someone to platoon with Church in right field. Chavez and Clark, and also guys like Marlon Anderson and Damion Easley, will probably see time in the outfield this season.
It should be interesting to see who makes the team out of spring training and who has to wait in AAA, or for injuries to heal, to make it to the bigs.
