Mets get Alou

Marty Noble at Mets.com, writes about the Mets signing Moises Alou:

Alou came as a free agent, signing a contract worth $8.5 million that covers next season and includes a club option for 2008. And because the club didn't exercise the option on Glavine's contract, the veteran pitcher no longer is a provisional free agent. He is a free agent, period.

Signing Alou, a right-handed hitter with a history of abusing left-handed pitching, certainly addressed the team's second-greatest need. The Mets developed a conspicuous flaw in their offense after the trade of Xavier Nady on July 31. They were regularly undone by left-handed pitchers.

The signing has other implications: It costs the Mets a first-round selection on the 2007 First-Year Player Draft -- for the second straight year -- because Alou was a Type A free agent with the surcharge of the compensation. Bringing him to Shea Stadium also eliminates the chance Cliff Floyd, also a free agent, will re-sign with them and reduces the chance of Lastings Milledge playing regularly with the Mets.