The Mets have expressed interest in bringing Octavio Dotel back in a setup role, a person familiar with the discussion said. Dotel was traded to the Astros with Roger Cedeno for Mike Hampton after going 8-3 for the Mets as a rookie in 1999. The righthander had ligament replacement surgery in his right elbow in June. The 31-year-old reliever has resumed tossing a baseball at 60 feet and is expected to be ready by spring training. Dotel was 1-2 with seven saves in 15 games last season before getting hurt. Dotel had a combined 6-6 record, 3.69 ERA and 36 saves with the Astros and A's in 2004, when he was part of the three-team trade that landed Carlos Beltran in Houston. He made $4.75 million last season, but would figure to get an incentive-laden contract with a low base salary and options for future seasons contingent upon him staying healthy.