For those who haven’t heard the news, Jose Valentin , The Stache, has been moved to AAA. Valentin, who said he would retire rather than waste a half season rehabbing, has spent the season to date rehabbing in St Lucie. One would assume if he was moved up, it’d be at the expense of Nunez .

Its a tough call here. I like the Stache. Who doesn’t. He’s one of those tough guy old school players. He seems like he’ll play through most anything, hustle, and enjoys a good laugh. He’s a guy that could probably bring in some of the mentality the Mets need, the get out there, bust your ass, kick butt, take no prisoners type of deal. No offense to the Carloses, well, no offense to Beltran, but they just don’t bring it. Beltran too will generally quietly play through sprains, pulls, pain, etc, but he doesn’t bring the ability to push other, younger players. Plus, there’s the Stache. Its pretty sweet.

On the other hand, lets face it, he won’t be contributing much offense. Sure, he’ll have no problem sacrificing himself to get men over. But I wouldn’t expect much more than a low to mid 200 average. If he could muster up some hits while starting the one or two times a week Castillo needs to rest his knees it would be worth the consideration. But for a team thats showing signs of struggling in part due to an aging hurting roster, is bringing back an aged hurting utility man worth it for the leadership he’ll bring?

Overall, a Stache return could be good in the short run. If his words and example can help motivate what often seems like an aimless offense, then I’d say sure, let Stache join the club. But temporarily. That roster spot needs for the long term go to a younger, less likely to break in two player.