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Despite rallying in the ninth inning and a great game from Kirk Nieuwenhuis, the Mets lost 4-3 in extra innings to the Giants Friday night. Jason Bay and Lucas Duda made the last two outs and continue to struggle with runners in scoring position.

Saturday's news reports:

• Read game recaps from the extra-innings loss in the Post, Daily News, Star-Ledger, Newsday, The Record. Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times.

• Nieuwenhuis went 1-for-3 with a home run and a great catch in the game. Read more about his big night in the Post, Daily News, and The Record.

• Third baseman David Wright told reporters before the game there have not been any contract talks between the sides. Read more in the New York Times.

• Angel Pagan, who hit a home run last night, said he was shocked when the Mets traded him this offseason. The Star-Ledger and Newsday also wrote about Pagan's return.

• Starting pitcher Johan Santana, who gave up six runs in 1 1/3 innings on Tuesday, is still in line to start Monday. Read more about this in the Post.

• Former Yankee Melky Cabrera scored the winning run last night and continues to be big in the clutch, according to Star-Ledger columnist Jeff Bradley.

• Center fielder Andres Torres is increasing his activity as he prepares for a return, writes the Star-Ledger.

• A source told ESPNNewYork.com that lefty Daniel Herrera's season is over as he will need Tommy John Surgery.

• Mets manager Terry Collins will appear in a Dunkin Donuts ad with Yankees manager in the future, according to the Wall Street Journal.

• Olympian Dominique Dawes will be throwing out the first pitch Sunday, per Newsday.

TRIVIA: Which Met threw seven shutout innings 19 years ago today in a 10-0 win over the Giants?

Friday's answer: Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Edgardo Alfonzo, Gary Carter, Darryl Strawberry, Claudell Washington, Dave Kingman and Jim Hickman have homered three times in a game for the Mets.

Angel Pagan said he was “shocked” when the Mets traded him to the Giants in December, but “respects” his former team’s decision and is glad he’s in San Francisco now.

Pagan, who is batting .220 with two RBIs for the Giants, will lead off and play center field on Friday night in his first game against his former team. The Mets got center fielder Andres Torres and righty reliever Ramon Ramirez in exchange for Pagan.

Torres is on the disabled list after suffering a calf injury on Opening Day, while Ramirez has compiled a 7.11 ERA in six appearances out of the bullpen.

“It was nice to say hello, to say hi to my old teammates and coaches, and hang around the ballpark I played for four years,” Pagan said. “It was pretty good, but when the game starts, I’ll go out there and beat them. That’s what we’re gonna do.”

Pagan was watching television and saw that he would be part of the Mets’ lineup going forward, but hours later he found out he’d been dealt.

“I didn’t expect it,” Pagan said. “But I’m very happy that I got traded to this organization. My teammates are very nice people and they’re committed to winning. That’s what it’s all about.

“Sometimes teams go in different directions. And the Mets needed to rebuild the bullpen, and that’s very understandable.”

Pagan was criticized for his errors running the base paths and sometimes taking bad reads on balls in the field. There was also chatter that his personality wasn’t fitting inside the clubhouse, something he downplayed.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with my personality or whatever,” Pagan said. “I think as you guys know, I went out there and played hard every night. I gave it all to the team and I represented the organization in a professional way. That’s all you have in your power. After that, it’s just business, and I respect that all the way.”

Pagan had a career-year in 2010 (.290, 11 homers, 69 RBIs), but those numbers plummeted significantly in 2011 (.262, seven homers, 56 RBIs), prompting the Mets to go in another direction.

The 30-year-old recently had eight hits on the team’s six-game homestand -- including three triples.

“I’m just feeling more comfortable,” Pagan said. “You’re gonna have some ups and some downs. It happened that I started with a down, but it’s a long season. You have to just go out there and believe in yourself with determination, and believe that night you’re going to be able to turn it around.”

METS (7-5, second place/NL East) vs. SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS (6-6, third place/NL West)

Friday: LHP Jon Niese (2-0, 2.13) vs. LHP Barry Zito (1-0, 1.13), 7:10 p.m. ET

Saturday: RHP Mike Pelfrey (0-0, 3.09) vs. RHP Ryan Vogelsong (0-1, 2.84), 1:10 p.m. ET

Sunday: RHP Dillon Gee (1-1, 2.92) vs. RHP Tim Lincecum (0-2, 10.54), 1:10 p.m. ET

Monday: LHP Johan Santana (0-2, 3.97) vs. LHP Madison Bumgarner (2-1, 3.63), 7:10 p.m. ET

Giants short hops

• After a 3-for-27 start to his Giants career, center fielder Angel Pagan had three multi-hit games -- and three triples -- in a four-game span through Tuesday. He looked particularly good facing Phillies ace Roy Halladay. Pagan, known for his lapses in the field and on the bases, has been mostly sound in that respect -- albeit with one costly miscue. Playing center field behind Tim Lincecum on Monday in the first inning with one out and none on, Pagan did not take charge on a fly ball by Philadelphia’s Placido Polanco to right-center. He and right fielder Melky Cabrera both pulled off and the ball fell for a double that started a four-run rally. Pagan has batted leadoff in all but one of his starts this season. He was traded to San Francisco at the winter meetings in December for Andres Torres and Ramon Ramirez.

• Closer Brian Wilson’s season appears to have ended after an April 12 appearance in Denver because of a right elbow injury that is expected to require Tommy John surgery. Wilson has a second-degree sprain of the UCL, which has not completely torn off the bone. Still, he was expected to opt for the procedure. Wilson has sought opinions from Dr. Lewis Yocum in Los Angeles and then Dr. James Andrews in Birmingham, Ala., on Wednesday. Santiago Casilla handled the first closing opportunity and should get the bulk of the chances in Wilson’s absence. Last season, when Wilson did not pitch over the final six weeks except for two appearances, the Giants were 9-for-9 in save conversions. Casilla recorded six. Ramirez, now with the Mets, handled the other three.

• Barry Zito tossed a four-hit shutout at Colorado in his first start of the season, then limited the Pittsburgh Pirates to three runs (two earned) in seven innings in his second start. Zito changed radically changed his delivery over winter while working with former major league pitcher Tom House. The mechanical changes involve more drive with Zito’s legs as well as increased follow through.

Zito and Matt Cain, incidentally, attended a Sunday concert by Bay Area-spawned Train and were invited on stage, where they participated in performing “Save Me, San Francisco” and “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

• The Giants followed the major league trend of locking up young left-handed starting pitching, announcing this week the signing of Madison Bumgarner to a five-year extension, though 2017, with options for the following two seasons. Potentially worth as much as $70.5 million, it is the biggest contract ever given to a player with only one-plus years of major league service time. Bumgarner, 22, would not have been eligible for free agency until after the ’16 season.

The Texas Rangers similarly locked up left-hander Derek Holland and the Mets signed Jon Niese -- both for five guaranteed years -- during spring training.

Two starts ago, Bumgarner took a no-hit bid into the sixth inning against the Rockies. The southpaw matched up against Jamie Moyer that start -- marking the third-largest age disparity between starting pitchers in MLB history, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

Bumgarner’s deal came two weeks after the signing of Cain by the Giants to an additional five years at $112.5 million on top of the right-hander’s existing deal. After the two signings, the Giants made courtesy calls to representatives for Lincecum and catcher Buster Posey to say they are interested in extension discussions as well … after the season.

• Cain and Philadelphia’s Cliff Lee had a scoreless duel into extra innings Wednesday. Lee logged 10 scoreless innings; Cain logged nine. San Francisco won, 1-0, in 11 innings on Melky Cabrera’s RBI single against Antonio Bastardo.

• Posey, whose 2011 season ended with broken left leg suffered in a May 25 plate collision with the Marlins’ Scott Cousins, now is playing through shingles on his left arm.

• Lincecum is not eligible for free agency until after the 2013 season. The team wanted a longer deal with him, but he only agreed to a two-year, $40.5 million contract. Lincecum has allowed more first-inning runs this season (nine) than he did during all of his 2011 starts (eight). He has allowed at least five earned runs in each of his three starts this season. Since his first start, Lincecum has reincorporated a slider that he had hoped to shelve because it taxes his arm. Lincecum’s fastball velocity averaged only 90 mph in his third start, Monday opposite Halladay. His second outing, when he lasted only 2 1/3 innings at Colorado, was the shortest start of his career.

(Read full post)

Five days before Mets pitchers and catchers officially report on Monday, the Mets' spring-training complex already is abuzz with activity. Among the most prominent players already making appearances in Port St. Lucie: Johan Santana, David Wright, Ike Davis, Daniel Murphy, Lucas Duda, Josh Thole, Mike Nickeas, Dillon Gee and Bobby Parnell.

Wednesday's news reports:

• Fred Wilpon is on the ownership committee that is vetting prospective Los Angeles Dodgers owners, Ron Blum of the Associated Press reports. The committee chairman is Bill Bartholomay, former chairman of the Atlanta Braves. Other committee members include Baltimore Orioles chairman Peter Angelos, St. Louis Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt, Seattle Mariners chairman emeritus John Ellis, Detroit Tigers owner Mike Ilitch and Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner.

The Wilpon family has no intention of willingly selling the Mets, it has appeared, but obviously this affords them insights on deep-pocketed individuals should they ever need to relinquish the team. No more bailouts are expected from MLB if the Wilpons cannot meet their debt obligations, such as any potential inability to repay or rework their $40 million bridge loan with Bank of America.

Writes Blum:

Bartholomay said the committee will investigate "very deep" into not just the lead individuals of the groups, but also the proposed limited partners and corporations that plan to invest. The process was agreed to by Major League Baseball and Dodgers owner Frank McCourt in a deal filed with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. MLB agreed to process up to 10 bidders. Normally, Bartholomay's committee processes only the finalist to purchase a franchise. "Let's face it, when you have the United States government involved, it takes a different profile," he said.

Meanwhile, Ken Rosenthal assesses the Wilpons' long-term viability.

• GM Sandy Alderson -- of Twitter fame (@MetsGM) -- appeared on WFAN on Tuesday afternoon (listen here).

Alderson noted the Mets had no high-profile offseason acquisitions except for in the bullpen, which added Frank Francisco and Jon Rauch, but he maintained the team has the potential to be better than 2011, when the Mets went 77-85. He acknowledged the payroll decline is more precipitous than he expected, but also spun the $52 million freefall as being not as catastrophic when you consider Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo's contracts were on the books as dead weight last year since they were released in spring training. "I didn't come here to operate the Oakland A's, and I don't expect to have to do that on a long-term basis," Alderson said. He quickly added: "And am not doing that currently."

According to Alderson, Santana is scheduled to return to the mound Friday. Santana took a winter hiatus from mound work to have a semi-typical type of offseason and allow his body to recuperate after rehabbing a year from Sept. 14, 2010 surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his left shoulder. "It's going to be hard for us to fully predict what's going to happen once he gets on the mound, throws his bullpen, throws his first two or three innings in a game," the GM said. "But as we stand here today, we expect him to be ready to go [for the season]."

Of course, Santana already pitched in minor league games last year. The biggest question is whether he can sustain a pitching workload that would require him to get on the mound in a game every fifth or sixth day. And that won't be known until Grapefruit League games, or even into the regular season.

Meanwhile, Alderson also acknowledged in his radio interview that there is very little actual competition for starting position-player roles. Pressed about whether even Justin Turner might give Murphy a battle at second base, Alderson stood by his original comment that things are straightforward. According to Terry Collins, the projected lineup likely is: Andres Torres cf, Murphy 2b, Wright 3b, Davis 1b, Jason Bay lf, Duda rf, Thole c, Ruben Tejada ss.

Alderson does not dismiss Murphy or Tejada getting the leadoff nod instead, if only because the Mets might as well try to maximize on-base percentage if they don't have a speedster atop the order. Torres had a .343 OBP in 2010 vs. .312 in 2011. "You can't be the leadoff guy with a .310 on-base percentage," Alderson said. Still, the GM acknowledged Murphy is "not the first choice" to bat No. 1.

As for Turner, Alderson correctly noted that even if he's not a true second-base challenger to Murphy for Opeing Day, last year Turner ultimately emerged as a regular at second base. That came after a progression of people planned for the position, including Rule 5 pick Brad Emaus, had issues that disqualified them.

Regardless, Alderson projected Torres as a defensive upgrade over Angel Pagan, but noted there's a big discrepancy in Torres' offensive production between 2010 and 2011.

"Subject to health in Johan's case," Alderson said, the rotation is similarly pretty much set with Santana, R.A. Dickey, Jon Niese, Mike Pelfrey and Gee. Alderson noted the depth behind those five is thin, because the prospect quartet of Zack Wheeler, Matt Harvey, Jeurys Familia and Jenrry Mejia (who had May 2011 Tommy John surgery) is not ready for early season contributions. (Alderson called those four critical for 2013 and 2014.) The GM cited Chris Schwinden and Miguel Batista as the rotation safety net. The Mets also claimed Jeremy Hefner off waivers and signed Garrett Olson during the offseason.

Alderson added that he expects a lot of back-end-of-the-rotation-type pitchers to become available late in spring training. That's because the new collective-bargaining agreement requires teams to pay major league-experienced players who came to camp as free agents on minor league contracts a $100,000 lump sum if they continue on with that organization into the season but don't make the Opening Day roster. Those players also have the right to opt out June 1. To avoid the lump-sum payment, the player must be released five days before Opening Day. Alderson predicted lefty-hitting backup outfielders will become available before Opening Day for the same reason and the Mets won't necessarily have to rely on Mike Baxter or Adam Loewen for that role. The Mets watched Kosuke Fukudome sign with the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday.

Overall, Alderson acknowledged 22 to 23 roster spots are pretty much set, barring injury. That lefty-hitting outfield bench spot as well as the final spot in the bullpen behind Francisco, Rauch, Tim Byrdak, ex-Giant Ramon Ramirez, Manny Acosta and Parnell would be the obvious competitive roles. Alderson also was not ready to anoint Nickeas as the backup catcher, even though that is the likely direction.

Read more coverage of Alderson's radio interview in articles from Peter Botte in the Daily News as well as in the Times.

• Former major league catcher Bob Geren, now the Mets' bench coach, will work with Thole. Meanwhile, Murphy is getting his tutorial at second base from new third base coach Tim Teufel, which included work Tuesday in Port St. Lucie, according to Andrew Keh in the Times. (You may recall Keith Hernandez gave Murphy a tutorial at first base under similar circumstances a couple of years ago when Murphy was learning first base.) One Teufel tip is for Murphy to start plays a couple of feet closer to second base, Keh writes, which should provide more time to make the play and then get out of the way around the bag. Murphy's last two seasons have ended with MCL injuries suffered on opponents' slides into second base. "Dan is a good offensive player who's got some things to work on defensively, and that's kind of where I was, too," Teufel told Keh while reflecting on his own career. "I wasn't the best double play-turner, but I worked on it, and I became efficient, and that's what we want out of Dan."

Alderson, in his radio interview, said Murphy will wear a brace on the right knee, which he injured in 2010, but not on the left knee he injured last season. Read more on Murphy and Teufel in Newsday.

• Josh Lewin officially has been named Howie Rose's radio partner for the 2012 season. Lewin replaces Wayne Hagin, whose contract was not renewed. Lewin, 43, most recently called Texas Rangers games on TV from 2002-2010. He can be found on Twitter at @joshlewinstuff. Lewin tweeted that he will continue to call San Diego Chargers games next NFL season. Lewin grew up a Mets fan in Rochester, according to Ken Belson in the Times. Read more in Newsday.

• Santana joked Tuesday to Andy McCullough in the Star-Ledger that Friday's upcoming session off a mound, his first of 2012, should be on pay-per-view. Collins told Dan Martin in the Post that the upcoming session will only be at 75 to 80 percent.

• The Mets plan to have five bobblehead days this season -- tied to this being the 50th anniversary of the team's inaugural season in 1962. The ex-Mets included: Tom Seaver on April 22 vs. San Francisco, Rusty Staub on May 26 vs. San Diego, Hernandez on June 17 vs. Cincinnati, Edgardo Alfonzo on July 21 vs. Los Angeles and Mike Piazza on Aug. 25 vs. Houston.

David Lennon of Newsday tweeted that the Mets will wait to retire Piazza's No. 31 until he is selected to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, by the way. Lennon also predicted Piazza will get in on the first ballot, and that the plaque will include a Mets cap. (I'm not sure Piazza will be voted in Year 1 -- he needs 75 percent of ballots submitted -- but I agree the Hall very likely will put him in as a Met.)

• Duda told the Post he got a lot out of a conversation with the fellow Southern Cal alum Seaver late last season. "He told me to not worry about doing too much and to take a deep breath, basically," Duda told the newspaper. Said hitting coach Dave Hudgens about Duda: "He has to try and tone down his movement at the plate. He gets so geared up and tries to do too much. But he reminds me of [Jason] Giambi a little bit. He uses the whole field and has good discipline that will get better."

• Davis maintains his left ankle, which he injured May 10 in Denver, is OK. "I feel normal," he told the Star-Ledger. "If it was still bothering me, I'd be nervous. But I'm good to go. If I play horrible, it’s not my ankle's fault. It's just because I'm not very good." Collins told McCullough he will give Davis extra at-bats, potentially as a DH, in Grapefruit League games because he has been away from seeing live pitching for so long.

TRIVIA: Since the Mets' inception in 1962, which Canadian-born player has appeared in the most major league games with the team? (Give it a shot answering in the comments section. Answer coming tomorrow.)

It’s fairly easy to look at newest Mets Andres Torres numbers in 2011 and proclaim that he had an awful season.

But go back a year and dig deep and you could at least make the case that Torres didn’t just have a good 2010, but a great one.

The Angel Pagan/Torres swap in centerfield was done with sabermetrics in mind. And Sandy Alderson is banking on the statistical chance, however slim it might be, that the Torres of 2010 will re-emerge.

Two seasons ago, Torres ranked eighth among major league position players in the advanced stat, Wins Above Replacement, via the methods used at Fangraphs.com.

Torres was valued at 6.8 wins above what a minor league fill-in (think: Jason Pridie) would have produced.

That is All-Star level and was the same value that the stat attached to Blue Jays star Jose Bautista.

To the average fan, that seems ridiculous.

So how does Torres’ .268/.343/.479 slashline (batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage), with 16 home runs, 84 runs scored, 26 stolen bases equate to Bautista’s .260/.378/.617 with 54 home runs?

When Torres is at his best, there are two elements of his game that add greatly to his value-- his baserunning and his defense.

Let’s take a closer look at how he fared in each in 2010:

Defense
We’ve previously gushed in this space over what Brett Gardner’s defensive value would mean to the Mets.

In 2010, Torres had a season that was a near-match for what Gardner gave the Yankees on the defensive side, finishing second to Gardner in the defensive stat (Ultimate Zone Rating) used in the Wins Above Replacement calculation. His defense was valued at saving his team 22 runs.

Our metric of choice to evaluate defense is usually Defensive Runs Saved, and Torres ranked a bit lower (his 12 Defensive Runs Saved were ninth-best among outfielders last season) in that. But both stats draw from the same data, which shows that Torres was above average, if not elite.

Torres ranked first among centerfielders in Revised Zone Rating, which looks at all the batted balls hit to spots in which a centerfielder converted them into outs at a rate of 50 percent or higher.

Torres’ best attribute was that he caught 161 of the 167 balls hit into his zone in centerfield, giving him a Revised Zone Rating of 96 percent.

By comparison, Pagan caught balls in his zone at a 90 percent rate. That six percentage point gap between the two players is meaningful, one probably worth at least a dozen balls over a full season.

Torres didn’t rate highly at getting to balls outside his zone (think those that become doubles or triples in the outfield gaps) as a centerfielder, but rated very well in doing so playing both left field and right field (an example from his trip to Taiwan a few weeks ago can be seen here.

That too added considerably to his defensive value, though that may not be as relevant for Mets management, who view Torres as an everyday centerfielder.

The other thing that fans will likely notice is that Torres does not make many mistakes. He’s not going to overrun or bobble balls with the frequency that Pagan did in his Mets stint.

Baseball Info Solutions charts every play of every game and uses trained “video scouts” to tags plays into 80 subcategories of Good Fielding Plays (GFP) and Defensive Misplays & Errors (DM&E).

Torres was credited with 11 GFPs and 11 DM&Es in his 655 innings in centerfield in 2010.

He’s not someone who will make a lot of flashy Web Gem-type plays (his rate of GFPs per inning is low), but his rate of mistakes that season (one every 59 innings) was well better than Pagan’s (one every 40 innings) and well above the big league average (one every 39).

Baserunning
Last season, baseball researcher Mitchel Lichtman introduced a stat to measure baserunning value-- Ultimate Baserunning Rating. It became a component of the Wins Above Replacement statistic, applied retroactively.

By this measure, Torres ranked third in the National League and eighth in the majors, with his baserunning valued as adding 5.5 runs to his team over the course of the season.

That’s not necessarily difference-making, but it’s pretty good.

That season Torres stole his 26 bases in 33 attempts, his 78 percent success rating a little above the major league average of 72 percent.

Torres also gained 25 bases on fly balls, passed balls, wild pitches, passed balls, balks, and defensive indifference. That tied for 10th-most in the majors.

Torres also went first-to-third 11 times out of the 19 times that he was on first base when a single was hit. That’s five more times than the average baserunner would be expected to do.

Those successes, combined with Torres being able to limit his outs on the basepaths (he made four outs attempting to take extra bases and was picked off four times, totals not exorbitant given his successes), were what keyed his excellent baserunning rating.

What does it all mean?
In 2010, Torres value as a hitter ranked 47th in the majors, his defense ranked second, and his baserunning ranked eighth. That’s pretty good for a guy whose previous experience prior to 2010 was minimal.

Smush all those stats together and Torres rated very well-- the toughest player to statistically replace on a Giants team that won the World Series.

If the Mets get anything remotely close to that, they’ll have done fairly well for themselves with this swap.

Twenty-four hours certainly changed Terry Collins' outlook.

A day after wondering about the composition of his bullpen, the Mets had added three capable right-handed pieces -- Frank Francisco, Jon Rauch and Ramon Ramirez -- while also swapping center fielders/leadoff men in shipping out Angel Pagan for Andres Torres.

"I think our biggest priority when we came to these meetings was to try to strengthen our bullpen," Collins told ESPNNewYork.com. "We knew we had to rebuild it. To get it done the way it happened today, I'm amazed by it. Those were three very, very good arms -- power arms. It's going to give us huge depth down there now. And I think it's going to make a difference."

Collins confirmed Torres would assume center field and the leadoff spot.

"One of the things it's going to do, it's going to allow us to let Ruben (Tejada) hit down in the order a little bit, because it's a different situation for him this year," Collins said. "He's not backing up anybody. He's the guy. And I want him to be a little comfortable and relax. And Torres knows how to lead off. I mean, he did it a couple of years ago.

"Boch (Giants manager Bruce Bochy) told me -- as a matter of fact, it sounded like the same thing that Angel went through -- in 2010 they both had big years. And in 2011 they tried duplicate it and more instead of just doing what they did the year before."

Collins also confirmed Rauch would handle the eighth inning and Francisco would close, with Rauch getting saves when Francisco was unavailable.

With the dollars the Mets committed to Francisco and Rauch -- nearly $10 million in 2012 -- the Mets mostly appear done with retooling the starting lineup and bullpen. The primary areas remaining are starting pitching depth and the bench.

"I think we're getting close," Collins said. "I think there's a couple of more things that Sandy (Alderson) wants to try to do, that he wants to talk about tomorrow. I think this now, the urgency to get some other things done is less.

"I'm telling you, that was our goal. Our goal was to find some relief pitching. I salute the way they did it today. I'm not a general manager. I don't want to be a general manager. And today was why I don't want to be. The manipulations that they had to do, the figuring out where the money is going to come from to do this, to do that move, it's fun to watch and see those guys in action. They did a great job today. We got better."

The Mets and San Francisco Giants are working on a deal that would send Angel Pagan to the Bay Area for center fielder Andres Torres and reliever Ramon Ramirez, according to multiple reports.

Ramirez, a 30-year-old right-hander, went 3-3 with a 2.62 ERA in 66 relief appearances for the Giants last season.

Torres, 33, hit .221 with four homers and 19 RBIs in 348 at-bats in 2011.

Terry Collins said Monday he has all but resolved to use Angel Pagan in the leadoff spot. Collins even planned to call Pagan to have a conversation about it soon.

But, the manager added, Daniel Murphy would be the alternative. In fact, the manager said, team officials had discussed that possibility Monday because of Murphy's high on-base percentage. Collins said he could see Murphy like a Wade Boggs atop the lineup. Collins wanted to avoid using Ruben Tejada at leadoff to limit the pressure on Jose Reyes' successor.

Other tidbits:

• Collins congratulated Reyes with a text Monday morning, and Reyes replied with a brief thank you. On the Marlins' spending, Collins said: "I was a little surprised they had that much money to burn." As for the Mets' psyche, Collins added: "We cannot start spring training sad."

• Collins said as of now he would project Murphy as the second baseman, with Justin Turner also in the mix.

• The manager said the debate now in the organization is whether to sign one higher-end closer or spread the money a little more around with multiple relievers. The latter option may prevail, meaning that Frank Francisco/Jon Rauch-type caliber. Collins said he can foresee Jenrry Mejia being the team's closer once he has recovered from Tommy John surgery. But, Collins added, the organization has not resolved to move Mejia to the bullpen just yet.

• Collins said he expects much more offense out of David Wright and Jason Bay with the outfield walls moved in.

• Collins said Johan Santana right now is "healthy" and that he expects the southpaw to make 30 starts in 2012. Still, Collins cautioned, Santana is unlikely to ever see 95 mph ever again.

• Trainer Ray Ramirez will go to Panama soon to check on how Tejada is bulking up this winter for the rigors of a major league season.

• Asked which prospects may make their major league debuts in 2012, Collins said right-hander Jeurys Familia -- potentially in the spring-training starting mix, potentially in the bullpen -- as well as left-handed reliever Robert Carson and center fielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, assuming he's recovered from shoulder surgery. Collins did not see 2010 first-round pick Matt Harvey being a factor in 2012.

The Mets signaled for the first part of the offseason that Angel Pagan likely was out, and that the organization was looking to go in a different direction in center field.

More recently, they have signaled that Pagan will not be non-tendered at the Dec. 12 deadline, meaning he would remain and get a raise from the $3.5 million he made in 2011.

One logical reason for the turnaround was evident Wednesday. David DeJesus, a credible alternative, signed a deal with the Cubs that guaranteed him $10 million over two years. That makes Pagan far more credible for an organization watching its bottom line.

Apparently, the Mets may not have a new starting position player in 2012 -- unless you count Ruben Tejada sliding over to shortstop and Daniel Murphy becoming the primary second baseman assuming Jose Reyes departs.

Despite organizational dissatisfaction with Angel Pagan, insiders suggest the Mets have concluded they probably will not be able to find another center fielder who can produce at a capable level for a lesser cost.

Pagan is arbitration-eligible and would get a raise from the $3.5 million he received this season.

Asked if Pagan would be the Opening Day center fielder in 2012, Sandy Alderson said: “Quite possibly. I think Angel gave us quite a bit that maybe was underappreciated. Maybe the defense was not up to his expectation or even ours. But he gave us some speed on the bases. He filled in, I think, reasonably well for Jose when he was out, filled in at the top of the lineup. So I think there were some positive things there that maybe were overlooked by some people. If we have Angel in center field to begin next season, I think we’ll be happy with that.”

The Mets, for the record, have not resolved to lose Reyes just yet. SI.com reported the Mets believe they can stay in the competition for Reyes if the reported Marlins bid of six years, $90 million is accurate. Then again, that bid -- if accurate -- appears to be only a starting point for the Marlins.

“I think Angel can be valuable to us whether we have Jose or not,” Alderson said. “Could he be our leadoff guy? I think he probably could. That’s something that Terry (Collins) and Angel would probably work through initially. But even if we have Jose, having that extra speed dimension is important. If you take Jose out and Angel out of the equation, there’s not a lot of speed offensively. I think Angel can be a valuable piece for us.”

As Day 2 of the GM Meetings wound down, Alderson said he had not yet had in-person meetings with agents -- just telephone dialogue.

As for trade talks, Alderson said: “It’s hard not to bump into people from other clubs. We’ve had some conversations, but nothing serious.”

Sandy Alderson arrived at the GM Meetings at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee on Monday afternoon.

Alderson subsequently reminded reporters of last year's acquisition pace -- his first signings, Ronny Paulino and D.J. Carrasco, came on board at the winter meetings in early December, and many of the Mets' moves waited until January.

“Right now it’s the middle of November," Alderson said. "It’s a long way to go.”

With nearly all the other GMs in attendance, as well as plenty of agents, groundwork can be laid for future moves. Asked how much legwork had been done on potential trades, Alderson said: “I wouldn’t say a lot. I don’t know that anybody has laid a lot of groundwork. We’ve had conversations with people.”

The Mets are in a tough predicament trade-wise. They have bloated contracts (Johan Santana and Jason Bay, for instance), then players such as Lucas Duda and Jon Niese who are making close to the major league minimum and therefore valuable to the organization -- and not much in-between, which are typically the pieces traded.

“Yeah, but take young guys for example,” Alderson said on that point. “Do we want to keep them? Yes. Would they possibly have trade value that might bring us other players? Maybe. I wouldn’t rule out at least in conversation talking about a wide range of possibilities.”

The Mets' primary pursuit, Alderson has all but acknowledged, is closer. And it seems like the Mets are targeting the price range of Matt Capps and Frank Francisco. Alderson has suggested the Mets could sign two closer types for the back end of the bullpen.

Interestingly, reports now seem to indicate Angel Pagan may be retained assuming Jose Reyes departs and the pressures on the Mets' payroll are less. That's not so much a function of liking Pagan, who would get a raise from his $3.5 million in 2011. It would seem more a function of not being able to land a competent center fielder on a one-year contract at a low cost.

The Post suggests Endy Chavez could be brought in as a backup outfielder to push Pagan for playing time under that scenario.

The Mets are clearly down on Angel Pagan. But the organization plans to tender the arbitration-eligible outfielder a contract rather than cut him loose at the Dec. 12 deadline, SI.com reported.

Pagan earned $3.5 million this past season, so his salary could be $4.5 million or more in 2012 assuming he returns.

That means the Mets likely will shop him before the non-tender deadline. And, while the report stated the Mets plan to tender Pagan a contract otherwise, that conceivably could be posturing so that the Mets don't lose all leverage in pursuing a trade.

Mike Pelfrey allowed five runs on nine hits and a walk in three innings in his final start of the season as the Phillies won, 9-4, Sunday to snap an eight-game losing streak. Pelfrey, who is eligible for arbitration, dropped to 7-13 with a 4.74 ERA, which should supress the amount of his 2012 salary and actually make it easier to retain him.

The Cincinnati Reds now visit Citi Field for a season-ending three-game series. Chris Schwinden (0-2, 5.06 ERA) looks for his first major league win in Monday's opener opposite right-hander Homer Bailey (9-7, 4.32).

It may be a big day in court, too, with Judge Jed S. Rakoff expected to rule as early as Monday on whether to toss all or part a the $1 billion lawsuit against Fred Wilpon, Saul Katz and family. A decision is expected to be announced before the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, which starts Wednesday at sundown.

Monday's news reports:

• Doctors discovered an abnormal spot by Gary Carter's right temple. Read more here.

• Jose Reyes went 2-for-4 with a walk Sunday and is hitting .331. However, Milwaukee's Ryan Braun homered while going 2-for-3 Sunday and lifted his average to a National League-best .333 in a win against Florida. It appears Matt Kemp may fall shy of the Triple Crown. He's now hitting .324 after going 1-for-5 Sunday for the Dodgers against San Diego.

• Terry Collins said he may have put too much of a burden on Pelfrey by naming him the Opening Day starter. Pelfrey finished with the highest ERA by a Mets Opening Day starter since Pete Harnisch in 1997 at 7.03 ERA, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "I'll take full responsibility if I put the heavy load on his shoulders by naming him the Opening Day starter," Collins said. "I thought he earned it from what he did last year. I think he thought he had to do more than what he's always done. So even though it's not what we wanted or what he wanted necessarily, I think Mike Pelfrey's really been OK, hasn't had the year he had last year but he's kept us in a lot of games." Read more in Newsday, the Record, Daily News, Post and Star-Ledger.

• Lucas Duda and Angel Pagan (headaches) and Jason Isringhausen (right leg numbness from herniated disc) may not appear again this season.

BIRTHDAYS: Former reliever Doug Sisk was born on this date in 1957.

Here are some quick hits about the Mets players who are either injured or sick, as told by Terry Collins.

Lucas Duda is out of the lineup once again with as suffers from headaches following his collision with the right field wall in St. Louis on Wednesday. Collins said Duda's status is unchanged and reiterated that he would be surprised if he plays again this season.

While Collins didn't classify Duda as having a concussion, he said that the outfielder/first baseman has to have something like that because he's still groggy and has a dull headache. He said those would probably by the symptoms of a concussion.

Angel Pagan is once again out of the lineup after he also continues to suffer from headaches after hitting himself on his back swing Thursday in St. Louis. Collins said Pagan had several symptoms last night and Collins added that just like Duda, he expects that Pagan will not return to the team this season.

"I'd be surprised if all of a sudden he had a miraculous recovery here in the next couple of days for sure," Collins said.

Jason Bay will miss his fifth game in the past six contests with his illness, which stems from a sinus infection. Bay said he got winded during batting practice yesterday but did not feel right running off the field and felt light headed at times while he was playing. Bay said he feels worse than he did yesterday and he will go to a doctor tomorrow and see if maybe he has to change his antibiotics or something else to combat the illness.