Alay Soler

Soler, the 2003 Cuban defector whom the Mets finally brought into the fold at the end of October 2005, was brilliant while pitching for Ponce in the Puerto Rican Winter League in 2006 and parlayed a strong early season in the minors into a promotion to the parent club. Once there, his rust from not pitching for 18 months while his visa issues were worked out and higher level of competition resulted in him earning a return trip back to the minors. Soler believed that his struggles were largely due to a tight right calf muscle, which forced him to lose confidence because he couldn't push off, and sidelined him for more than a month. Now healthy, Soler will need to use the time in the minors to work on his control and do a better job of keeping hitters off-balance, as teams caught on to his style of pitching backwards, using off-speed pitches to set up his 88-92 mph fastball. There is some thought to shifting him to relief, as he may be better suited that role.