Alou signing, what does this mean for the youngins?

Well, now that the Alou signing is all but done, what does this mean for Milledge, Gomez, and the rest of the young outfielders in our system? The way I see it, Alou is a stop gap, with only 1 year guaranteed, and with Milledge and Gomez not quite yet ready to produce on the level the Mets need, but very close. Alou could be a very good signing for the present and the future.

It could also mean that Milledge is on his way out for a pitcher, but I somehow doubt that, unless the right deal for the right pitcher like a Peavy or Willis comes along. But if we have to go to war with Alou-Beltran-Green as our OF, then so be it. It definitely wouldn't be a terrible outfield, in fact it could be a very productive outfield offensively, maybe not so much defensively. But it would be a nice place holding outfield until Milledge and Gomez are fully ready and mature enough to become every day outfielders in the MLB.

In 2008, we could be looking at Milledge-Beltran-Gomez as the outfield, which would not only be extremely young, fast, athletic, and great defensively, it would also be an outfield that could be part of the core of this team for a very long time. Maybe Alou is a better option than Soriano and Lee, because he doesn't want the long contracts with no trade clauses, and maybe Alou will be almost as productive without blocking Milledge and Gomez. This could turn out to be the best route we could take, not just for 2007, but for far beyond 2007 as well.