Alay, We Hardly Knew You

Sorry to break in and rudely push down Mets2Moon's "Key '07 Mets" post, but I wanted to alert everyone about someone who now won't be a key Met—Alay Soler.

Soler was released today. He signed a three-year deal in August '04 for $2.8 million after defecting from Cuba the year before.

Just to recap, the battle for the fifth rotation spot now includes Mike Pelfrey (who gets my vote), Philip Humber, Chan Ho Park, Jorge Sosa, Aaron Sele, and Jason Vargas.

Soler, competing for starting spot, released by Mets [ESPN.com]