Moises Alou was among the few bright spots for the Mets as their season was collapsing, and the organization is betting he can stay healthy enough to make significant contributions in 2008.
Yesterday, the Mets exercised their option on Alou for next season, leaving one less question mark concerning the outfield. The 41-year-old left fielder, who batted .341 with 13 homers and 49 RBIs in 87 games last season, was retained for $7.5 million.
“When we looked at it, we said, ‘Where can we get this kind of production, this kind of run producer in the marketplace today?’ ” general manager Omar Minaya said.
“We looked around, and there are some free-agent outfielders available, but to have this for one year at the dollars we’re talking about we felt, I don’t want to say no-brainer, but it was a wise decision to make this call.”
After missing more than two months with a left quadriceps injury, Alou returned to the Mets in late July and did his best work down the stretch, hitting .402 in September while extending a hitting streak that reached 30 games. Minaya also cited Alou’s leadership as a factor in the decision to retain him.
Speaking on the phone from his home in the Dominican Republic, Alou said he’s happy the Mets want him back.
“I was thinking about retiring earlier in the year or I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come back,” Alou said. “But the way I ended up playing, and what happened this year to us, I really wanted to have another chance, another shot at winning a world championship.”
Alou said he still hasn’t gotten over the fact the Mets missed the playoffs, squandering a seven-game lead in the NL East over the season’s final 2½ weeks.
“It’s been a little easier the last couple of days because the World Series is over and there’s no baseball on TV,” he said. “But it hasn’t been easy at all.”
With Alou returning, two-thirds of the outfield is set – Carlos Beltran will be in center field – but Minaya said he isn’t necessarily seeking a big-ticket item to play right, where Lastings Milledge, Carlos Gomez and Endy Chavez would be in the mix.
“Our outfield, with the people we have under control right now, if we needed to go with those guys, I would feel comfortable with the outfield right now,” Minaya said.
*
The Mets also announced they have re-signed infielder Damion Easley to a one-year contract worth $950,000. Easley, who will turn 38 later this month, appeared in 76 games for the Mets last season and batted .280 with 10 homers and 26 RBIs.
Easley missed the final six weeks of the season with a severely sprained left ankle, but Minaya said the player has received clearance to begin working out and should be fine by spring training.
“The job he did for us as a bench player was as good as you can want,” Minaya said.
Easley and Ruben Gotay are the Mets’ options at second base under contract, but Minaya said the team still has interest in Luis Castillo, who filed for free agency Monday.
*
Minaya would not directly address questions related to the possibility of signing Alex Rodriguez, but did say he has not spoken recently to Scott Boras, who represents Rodriguez. Minaya plans to speak with David Wright, who has said he would like to hear from the organization on whether Rodriguez is an option; presumably Wright would be shifted to another position if Rodriguez were signed. But Minaya wouldn’t tip his hand about what his message to Wright will be about.
mpuma@nypost.com