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Five days after Lenny Dykstra and Roger McDowell were traded from the Mets to the Philadelphia Phillies for Juan Samuel, they returned to Shea Stadium as division rivals in 1989.

“I was excited to see them, but it obviously was a different mindset,” recalled Mets third base coach Tim Teufel, who started at second base for the Mets in Dykstra and McDowell’s reunion game. “It was all good hellos early, and then it was war after that. The reception was great for Lenny. Lenny especially got a big ovation. He’s a fan favorite here. And Roger, with the job he did with [Jesse] Orosco in the bullpen, both of them got great ovations. It was a little bit different, knowing it was so quick a turnaround. But the fans reacted well.”

Just has Dykstra stepped into the batter’s box as the leadoff hitter on June 23, 1989 for the opposition, so too will Jose Reyes do so for the Miami Marlins on Tuesday night, facing Johan Santana -- albeit with Reyes having departed as a free agent rather than via a trade.

In fact, other than Darryl Strawberry and Reyes, most reunions occurred without the returnee willingly having chosen to leave New York. (And in Reyes’ case, it’s debatable if he actually had a choice, since the Mets never made an offer.)

“I’m sure Jose’s going to get a mixed reaction,” Teufel said.

Here’s a roundup of notable returns to Flushing by ex-Mets:

• Mike Piazza, Padres, Aug. 8, 2006: Piazza got royal treatment in his first game back in Flushing, after being forced to leave as a free agent. "Just from start to finish, it was one of those things that I didn't want to end," Piazza said that day, after going 1-for-4. "I just can't explain how honored I am, because you just don't see that a lot." Said manager Willie Randolph at the time: "That's how you treat heroes."

Piazza drew wild cheers the second he emerged for batting practice. He placed a finger to his lips, as if his "shhhh" would silence the Shea faithful. Later, when the crowd rhythmically chanted "Mike Pi-azz-zza," Piazza lifted his cap while shaking his head.

When Piazza settled into the batter's box to lead off the second inning, the public-address system blared the familiar guitar riff he used during his Shea heyday. A 23-year-old David Wright turned to third base ump Chuck Meriwether and told him, "This is pretty cool."

"We both agreed," Wright said that day, adding: "All the former Mets that come back usually don't get too warm a reception."

The following day, Piazza homered twice, both off Pedro Martinez.

• Al Leiter, Marlins, April 16, 2005: Leiter had denied reports that he badmouthed New York while successfully courting Carlos Delgado to join him with the Marlins. He also differed with Omar Minaya and the new Mets regime about whose fault it was that he did not return. Then the southpaw, who was roughly treated by the crowd in his return, allowed one run and three hits in seven innings, but got a no-decision in the Mets’ 4-3 win while starting opposite Martinez.

"I don't know what they were booing at,” Leiter said that day. “One guy in the bullpen said, 'Al, we love you and I think you're great, but I'm still going to boo you.' You have fans that root for the marks and logos of their teams. You root for the fabric and I understand that. That's probably what it is."

Paul Lo Duca, Leiter’s batterymate with the Marlins that day, told Newsday after the game: "When I went back to L.A., it was emotional. I asked him yesterday. He didn't want to pitch. For him to do what he did, I don't think people realize how hard it is. You have that anxiety and you want to do too much. You want to hit a ball eight miles. You want to throw a ball 100 miles an hour, because there's part of you that sort of wants to shove it up you-know-what."

• John Franco, Astros, April 11, 2005: Yes, the Mets displayed a tribute video on the Shea scoreboard before the start of the second inning. And, yes, Franco was warmly cheered by the Flushing crowd pregame, after being forced to leave as a free agent the previous offseason.

Franco actually surrendered a key two-run single to Cliff Floyd that accounted for the final runs in the Mets’ 8-4 win. He was booed upon entering as a reliever. “The crowd treated me nice," Franco said after that game. "[The boos] don't bother me. That's just part of it. I played 15 years here and probably heard a lot of that. There are people who like you and people who don't like you."

• Darryl Strawberry, Dodgers, May 7, 1991: Unlike many of the other departures via trade or free agency, Strawberry left mostly of his own volition, to sign a five-year, $20.25 million deal with L.A. And he often has said of late he regretted the decision.

Strawberry, mired in a 1-for-23 slump and prolonged long ball drought, belted a two-run homer against Frank Viola in his return. But Straw also grounded out to end the game while facing Franco with the potential tying run on third base. The Mets won, 6-5.

Fans lustily jeered and chanted “Dary-llll, Dary-lll.” According to the Associated Press report, extra security was positioned in right field, but the only issue was some strawberrys being chucked at the slugger in the on-deck circle. Said Franco, according to the Times: "Everybody says they hate him. But then why do they come out to the ballpark? It's because they admire him. Hey, they got their money's worth."

• Gary Carter, Giants, May 8, 1990: The aging Carter hit .183 in 50 games with the Mets in 1989, so the organization decided to go with Barry Lyons and Mackey Sasser behind the plate the following season. The Mets also parted with Keith Hernandez that same offseason. That prompted Carter to sign with the Giants to platoon with Terry Kennedy. San Francisco manager Roger Craig sent Carter out to exchange lineup cards with Davey Johnson, and Kid was given a prolonged standing ovation by the Shea faithful. He started the game and went 1-for-2 with a single and walk in seven innings.

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New Mets' Hall of Famer John Franco said that maybe in the future he would like to extend his on-field presence in the Mets' organization, but for now he is satisfied that he is able to watch his son, J.J., play as a second baseman for Brown University.

Franco, 51, spends much of his time these days flying around the country, following J.J.'s games. J.J., who used to run around the Mets' clubhouse as a little kid, is a sophomore. Before going to Brown, the Mets drafted J.J. in the 42nd round.

For John, watching his son is like coming full circle, remembering how his father used to follow him as a kid. He said his late father would have had a "big smile from ear-to-ear" if he were here to see John inducted into the Mets' Hall.

"I'm truly honored and humbled about being inducted into the Mets' Hall of Fame," Franco said. "Growing up, as a kid in Brooklyn, and starting out in the PAL and always rooting for the Mets and working my way through high school and college, having a good career here in New York, it is an honor for me, to be inducted into the Hall of Fame, rooting for the team that I grew up rooting for and now am a member of their Hall of Fame. I am very honored that I was selected."

Last year, Franco worked with Bobby Parnell, but it doesn't appear as if he will have an extended on-field role in the near future.

"Right now, I'm pretty happy with what I'm doing," Franco said. "I'm doing a lot of stuff off-the-field for the organization. I volunteer my services whenever they need it for on-the-field services with any of the players. I have the luxury of doing both and I have the luxury of watching my son play college ball."

Franco, who has always maintained a strong relationship with Fred Wilpon, believes the Mets have the right ownership in place.

"I can tell you this," Franco said. "Fred Wilpon and Jeff Wilpon will do everything in their power to get this organization back to where it needs to be. Just be patient. We have some good players here in the organization at the major league level and we have good players coming up in the minor league level. Knowing Fred the way I know Fred, he will do everything in his power to bring back a winning team here at Citi Field."

The Mets just announced that John Franco has been elected to the team's Hall of Fame. There is a conference call at 1 p.m. I'll report back after that.

The Mets Hall of Fame now has 26 members. The previous Hall of Fame members in order of the year they were inducted are: Joan Payson (1981); Casey Stengel (1981); Gil Hodges (1982); George M. Weiss (1982); Johnny Murphy (1983); William A. Shea (1983); Ralph Kiner (1984); Bob Murphy (1984); Lindsey Nelson (1984); Bud Harrelson (1986); Rusty Staub (1986); Tom Seaver (1988); Jerry Koosman (1989); Ed Kranepool (1990); Cleon Jones (1991); Jerry Grote (1992); Tug McGraw (1993); Mookie Wilson (1996); Keith Hernandez (1997); Gary Carter (2001); Tommie Agee (2002); Frank Cashen (2010); Dwight Gooden (2010); Davey Johnson (2010) and Darryl Strawberry (2010).

In the meantime, what do you think of Franco being chosen to the team's Hall of Fame?

Washington beat the Mets, 3-2, on Tuesday night to move within a game of the Amazin's for third place in the National League East, and even in the loss column. The tragic number for Mets elimination from postseason contention is down to one.

Wednesday's news reports:

• Jose Reyes acknowledged his troublesome left hamstring still feels tight on occasion since returning from the DL, and he is not going full throttle because he is concerned about blowing out the muscle. Reyes has a league-high 16 triples, but none since July 21. He has only one stolen-base attempt since being activated Aug. 29.

Reyes did go 3-for-4 with a walk to lift his average to .333. Ryan Braun had the walk-off homer for the Brewers against Colorado in the 11th inning, but went 1-for-5 in Milwaukee's win. His average stands at .329.

Read more on Reyes' hammy whammy in the Record, Star-Ledger, Newsday, Post and Daily News.

• David Wright said he is unconcerned about his spate of recent errors -- six in seven games -- before Tuesday's spotless showing. The last Met with six errors in a seven-game span was Jeff Kent in 1996. Wright's 16 errors are second-most in the National League, trailing only Milwaukee's Casey McGehee with 19. And McGehee has played 49 more games and had 99 more chances. "For me, it’s almost sometimes like hitting," Wright told Steve Popper in the Record. "When you play you go in stretches where you play really well, and sometimes you go in stretches where you don’t play well. Some are dumb things. Some are careless on my part. I mean, if I go out there and I play the kind of defense that I want to, I’m going to make errors. I’d rather be aggressive and try to get the out than play it safe for the fact of not making errors."

• Pitching coach Dan Warthen tells Mike Puma in the Post that the Mets are following through and pairing John Franco with Bobby Parnell for mentoring sessions. "The more that (Parnell) can understand it's an attitude, that you've got to believe that everything is going to work your way and you've got to choose your battles, the better he will be," Warthen said. "I think John Franco can help him in that respect. He's a good, name guy and I try to use all the people I can." From a pitching-arsenal perspective, Warthen wants Parnell to work on a slurve that's 13 to 14 mph off his fastball and has a bigger break.

• Luis Nieves homered for the first time this season and Yohan Almonte tossed five scoreless relief innings as Savannah bounced back from a walk-off loss in Game 1 to even the South Atlantic League championship series at a game apiece. Next up in the best-of-five affair: Johan Santana taking the mound for four innings at Savannah on Thursday.

• Andrew Keh in the Times explains that Mets pitchers actually like the dimensions of Citi Field. There has been no official word, but it is widely expected that a home run will be awarded in 2012 on any shot over the eight-foot mark of the left-field wall. There has been no definitive word on whether right field will be altered to eliminate the "Mo Zone" crevice. "We talk about it all the time, joking around with the hitters,” Dillon Gee told Keh. “They’ll talk about how they can’t wait till next year, and we’ll debate on whether it should happen or not. ... Sex sells in advertising, and home runs sell in baseball. But I’ve got a pitcher’s mind-set, and I love the big field.” Said Mike Pelfrey: “I think David deserves homers for some of the balls he hits. He’ll crush one and get a double out of it. I think there’s a point where that gets frustrating.”

• Chris Schwinden is due to get another start Thursday against the Nationals.

• Jason Isringhausen received a nerve-blocking shot Monday and tried tossing a baseball Tuesday, but is still days from returning from a herniated disc in his lower back.

• Jason Bay sat out Tuesday's game because his right shoulder was barking. Bay continues to jam the shoulder when he dives attempting catches in the outfield.

• Mets minor league award winners, including Matt Harvey, are expected at Citi Field on Wednesday for a pregame ceremony.

• Read recaps of Tuesday's loss in the Times and Daily News.

• Francisco Rodriguez is not happy he has been bypassed for save chances with the Brewers. "I'm not fine," K-Rod told Scott Milller at CBSSports.com. "They told me I'd have the opportunity to close some games, and we've had 20-some save opportunities since then and I haven't even had one. ... I'm a little disappointed in that. But that's something that's out of my hands."

BIRTHDAYS: Submarine reliever Chad Bradford turns 37. ... Harry Parker, who made 96 appearances (26 starts) for the Mets in the mid-'70s, was born on this date in 1947.

After a riveting pregame ceremony remembering 9/11 victims and honoring first responders, the Mets twice stranded the bases loaded late and lost to the Chicago Cubs, 10-6, in 11 innings. Josh Stinson suffered his first major league loss. The Mets used a franchise-record 26 players, surpassing the 25 used in a Sept. 14, 1998 game at Houston.

"They did a great job with the ceremony," Terry Collins said. "I wish more people could have seen it. It was really, really, really well done. Even Mike Piazza, when he was standing next to me, he said, 'Boy, isn't this beautiful out here? What a nice tribute.' I think he's absolutely right."

Monday's news reports:

• Major League Baseball prohibited the Mets from wearing first responder caps during the game. A handful of Mets, including David Wright, donned them in the dugout, but not on the field. Here's my take. And the take of columnist John Harper in the Daily News and George Willis in the Post.

Read more on the hat subject in the Record, Star-Ledger, Daily News, Times, Post and Newsday.

• St. Lucie was swept by Cubs-affiliated Daytona, three games to none, in the Florida State League championship series. Savannah is now the lone Mets affiliate alive. It opens the South Atlantic League championship series on Monday night. Read more on St. Lucie's ouster from Bill Whitehead at TCPalm.com.

• David Lennon in Newsday wonders if the Mets can afford not to retain Jose Reyes and David Wright. "Those guys are the faces of this organization," said John Franco, who threw Sunday's ceremonial first pitch to Piazza. "Me personally, I would love to see both of them finish their careers here. With the young talent coming up, you can build a team around these guys, and it's important to have guys like that around."

• Johan Santana will pitch Thursday for Savannah in his third minor league start since resuming throwing following shoulder discomfort.

• Lucas Duda plans to play winter ball in Venezuela despite the organization telling Duda he does not need to do so because of his heavy workload this season.

• Read recaps of Sunday's 11-inning loss in the Times and Star-Ledger.

• Read a recap of the pregame remembrance ceremony in the Record.

BIRTHDAYS: Luis Castillo, who never did find work after getting cut by the Mets and then the Phillies late in spring training, turns 36. ... Mickey Lolich, who started 30 games for the Mets in 1976 after being acquired from the Detroit Tigers in a trade for Rusty Staub, was born on this date in 1940.

David Wright and Jose Reyes committed two errors apiece -- Wright's latter miscue placing the tying run on base in the ninth inning -- and Bobby Parnell ultimately blew the save as the Mets lost to the Cubs, 5-4, Saturday afternoon.

Sunday's news reports:

• Terry Collins predicted Johan Santana would not appear for the Mets next week. And apparently there will be a minor league game for Santana to work. Savannah advanced to the South Atlantic League championship series, with Game 3 scheduled for Thursday in Georgia. That's Santana's proper work day with the extra day of rest between starts that has been worked into his schedule. Read more in the Star-Ledger and Record.

• Brooklyn was eliminated by Staten Island in the New York-Penn League playoffs, while St. Lucie is now down two games to none in the best-of-three Florida State League championship series.

• Collins said he should have walked Aramis Ramirez with first base open to load the bases for speedy Tony Campana in the ninth. Instead, Parnell pitched to Ramirez and he delivered the go-ahead two-run single with two out. “I thought about putting him on first base, but I just didn’t want to load the bases,” Collins said. “The one thing that’s killed us all year has been base-on-balls. I know he’s a good hitter, I just didn’t feel comfortable walking him. And I should have. I should trust my guys better than that. It’s the big leagues. You can’t do that stuff.” Read Wright and Reyes reaction and game recaps in the Star-Legder, Times and Newsday.

• Manny Acosta, who has received recent closing attempts, looks up to fellow Panamian reliever Mariano Rivera, according to Anthony McCarron in the Daily News.

• The Mets hold a remembrance ceremony before Sunday night's ESPN-televised game against the Cubs. John Franco throws the ceremonial first pitch to Mike Piazza.

BIRTHDAYS: St. John's product Larry Bearnarth, who went 13-21 with a 4.13 ERA in 173 appearances with the Mets from 1963-66, was born on this day in 1941. He passed away in 1999.

Justin Turner's walk-off RBI lifted the Mets to a 5-4 win against the Chicago Cubs on Friday night at Citi Field. It was Turner's second walk-off hit this season (also vs. Oakland).

Saturday's news reports:

• John Franco volunteered to mentor Bobby Parnell on closing, Mike Puma writes in the Post. Informed by the newspaper of Franco's remark, Terry Collins said he would take Franco up on the offer and arrange a chat. Jason Isringhausen regularly speaks with Parnell, too. "He's a young kid and he's still figuring things out," Franco told Puma. "It's like on-the-job training for him. If you go into a season with the mindset 'This is my job,' and you have the right tutoring -- someone like myself can come along and maybe help him out and talk to him day in and day out."

• The Post reports Mets owners are confident they'll be able to complete the sale of $20 million to $30 million blocks of the team by Dec. 31, now that David Einhorn's deal to infuse $200 million has fizzled.

• Johan Santana allowed an unearned run in three innings for Savannah in the South Atlantic League playoffs. Santana pronounced himself healthy and said he was unsure if his next appearance might be in a major league game. Read more in the Star-Ledger.

• Trying to protect Jose Reyes from future injury, Collins wants the shortstop to run hard -- but not 100 percent -- on probable groundouts.

• With Isringhausen suffering from a herniated disc, Dale Thayer joined the Mets bullpen Friday -- four days after Triple-A Buffalo's season ended and Thayer had been bypassed for a promotion. Thayer was in a Burger King in Gallup, N.M., en route from Buffalo to his California home when he received the call.

• Jason Bay has an eight-game hitting streak. He had a pair of doubles Friday. Read more in Newsday.

• The Mets are offering free tickets to first responders and their families for Sunday night's game against the Cubs, while available. As part of the 9/11 remembrance weekend, Mike Piazza and current and past Mets visited a firehouse in Manhattan. Piazza reflected on the Sept. 21, 2001 game at Shea Stadium, in which his eighth-inning homer lifted the Mets to victory over the Braves in the first major league game back in New York. "Coming into the game, I didn't really know if we should have been there at all," Piazza told reporters during the firehouse visit. "That whole week or so caused everyone to examine what life is about, in a way, and sports wasn't that important." Read more in Newsday, the Post and Daily News.

• Read game recaps from Friday's win in the Star-Ledger, Record, Times, Post and Daily News.

• Mets affiliates Savannah and Brooklyn, facing elimination, won games in their semifinal series to force winner-take-all games for the right to reach their leagues' championship series. St. Lucie lost Game 1 of its best-of-five Florida State League championship series.

BIRTHDAYS: No players to appear for the Mets were born on this day.

Lucas Duda delivered a tiebreaking RBI single off left-hander Mike Dunn in the seventh inning as the Mets rallied from a two-run deficit to beat the Marlins, 3-2, on Wednesday.

Thursday's news reports:

• Ike Davis has been running pain-free, so he will head to Port St. Lucie, Fla., to test his left ankle with baseball activities and hitting. Terry Collins said the development is positive and offers hope of avoiding surgery, but assistant GM John Ricco said Davis is not firmly out of the woods until he continues to demonstrate progress. Meanwhile, Johan Santana may return to a minor league game Saturday for the first time in more than a month. Read more on Davis in the Star-Ledger, Post, Record and Newsday.

• Gary Carter was taken to the emergency room Tuesday with blood clots in his chest and right leg, his daughter indicated. He will be treated with blood thinners.

• Sandy Alderson weighed in on free agency and the 2012 payroll. And the GM sure seemed to float a $100 million to $110 million payroll, which sounds kind of similar to what Fred Wilpon said earlier in the year in a magazine piece, creating another stir.

• Infielder Josh Satin and right-handed reliever Josh Stinson will join the Mets on Thursday as rosters expand with Sept. 1 having arrived. A handful of additional call-ups, including outfielder Mike Baxter, should join the Mets after Triple-A Buffalo's season ends Monday. Read more in the Times.

• Duda described his game-deciding hit against the tough southpaw Dunn this way: "That was tough. I was trying to put the ball in play. He threw me two sliders -- one in the dirt and one down the middle. And then I just kind of went into battle mode because he's tough. I just tried to put the ball up the middle."

Said Collins about Duda's at-bat: "He fouls off two nasty sliders. And then the ball he hits, (hitting coach) Dave Hudgens came back and said, 'Wait until you see the replay of that at-bat.' He said he hit a 95 mph fastball on the outside corner. A terrific at-bat."

Duda, by the way, hit .319 with five homers and 20 RBIs in August.

Read more on Duda and the win in game stories from Newsday, the Times and Star-Ledger.

• David Wright is not dwelling on the dimensions of Citi Field. But the third baseman did note he hit "800 feet worth of doubles" Wednesday. He seemed to express some relief that at least one of his shots against the Marlins likely will be a long ball next season if put in the same spot. Anything over 8-feet tall is expected to be a homer next year to left field, rather than the current 16 feet in some spots.

• John Franco will throw the ceremonial first pitch to Mike Piazza before the ESPN-televised Sept. 11 game against the Chicago Cubs at Citi Field. The Mets will wear hats from the New York City first responders again that day to honor rescuers and remember victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

"Because the games were called on 9/11, we went back to Pittsburgh before we actually played a game in New York," Todd Zeile recalled Wednesday. "At that time we had been impacted by meeting with the families of the rescue workers. And so we had hats and T-shirts that we wanted to wear under our jerseys and on our heads during the game. And I can remember MLB saying we could do it as a tribute at the beginning, but we had to put our regular hats on for the rest of the game.

"The quote was attributed to me that I said, 'They're going to have to pry them off our heads if they think we're going to take those off.' But the quote was really attributed to me because I was the player rep. It was really a collective feeling from everybody in the clubhouse, and Bobby (Valentine) included, that, 'Hey, we're wearing these out there as a tribute. This is not some trivial, novel little sign and gesture. This is a tribute. And we're going to wear these hats until we can't wear them anymore, until they're ripped off our heads.' That was the feeling we had toward New York. There was a unity there."

Read more in the Post and Newsday.

• Placing Jason Bay in center field between Daniel Murphy and Duda seems like a long shot for 2012, but Bay said he is capable of playing that position if the organization wishes. Read more on Bay in the Record, Daily News and Post.

• Jose Reyes tells Andy Martino in the Daily News he is not consumed with a batting title, although friends do constantly text him updates about how Milwaukee's Ryan Braun performed. After going 2-for-4 Wednesday, Reyes continues to lead the National League at .336. Braun held serve with a 2-for-4 night too and ranks second at .333. The Mets have never had a batting-title winner. "I root for him because he is a friend, and I root for him because he is a teammate," Wright told Martino about Reyes. "I also root for him because I like hitting with runners in scoring position."

• Chris Capuano is a free agent this offseason. Could he get a multiyear deal to be a starter?

• Miguel Batista, 40, makes his Mets debut Thursday night against Florida.

BIRTHDAY: Left-hander David West, who was sent to the Minnesota Twins in the July 31, 1989 deal for Frank Viola, was born on this date in 1964.

Ike Davis continued to feel no discomfort running, so team officials have decided to test his left ankle with more strenuous activity. Davis will head to Port St. Lucie, Fla., to try baseball activities that require lateral movement as well as hitting.

There is no expectation Davis would return this season, but Terry Collins suggested it offered encouragement surgery could be avoided. Still, assistant GM John Ricco said it was not possible to rule out surgery until Davis tries the more aggressive movements.

Davis likely will be with the Mets for the Marlins series next week in Miami, to try activities with trainer Ray Ramirez observing.

“Obviously there are really good signs he’s getting better,” Collins said.

The Mets have identified Labor Day as a decision date for surgery.

“That wasn't a drop-dead date,” Ricco said. “But the fact that we're going to be down there just seems to work, and we'll be on the same page and we'll decide what we're going to do. … I think it's generally considered better if you don't have to have surgery. And an invasive surgery like that you'd like to avoid it if you could.”

GAME ON? Johan Santana may appear in a rehab game Saturday in Florida for the first time since July 28.

BATTERY: John Franco will throw the ceremonial first pitch to Mike Piazza before the ESPN-televised Sept. 11 game against the Chicago Cubs.

MAKING THE CALL: The Mets’ September call-ups will be limited, and in two stages -- when rosters expand Thursday and after the Triple-A season ends Monday. Outfielder Mike Baxter will be part of the latter group. Among position players, the Mets seemed likely to promote two of three players among infielders Josh Satin, Zach Lutz and Valentino Pascucci. However, Lutz may land on the DL at Triple-A Buffalo with continued concussion symptoms, which presumably would eliminate his candidacy.

Right-handed reliever Josh Stinson is expected to join the Mets on Thursday from Double-A Binghamton.

FLIP: Collins said there was no overly compelling reason to move Lucas Duda to third and place David Wright cleanup rather than the opposite order. But the manager did say one motivation was to put the onus for driving in runs on Wright, a perennial All-Star, as opposed to the rookie Duda.

OUTTA HERE? Like Hisanori Takahashi last year, reliever Ryota Igarashi must be granted free agency this offseason assuming he and the Mets do not work out a contract by a set deadline.

INNINGS EDICT: With 40-year-old Miguel Batista due to start Thursday, Collins was asked if it was a waste since the right-hander’s age dictates he will not be a part of the future. Collins said the problem is the viable young pitchers have already exceeded prudent innings limits. And using them five times in September could have harmful effects on them in 2012. For instance, Triple-A Buffalo All-Star Chris Schwinden has logged 144 1/3 innings this season, already 30 2/3 innings more than his 2010 total.

CENTER ATTENTION: While it’s not a likely scenario, Collins said Jason Bay could play center field on a regular basis in his estimation. The manager suggested the ability to make reads is more important than speed. Collins noted Jim Edmonds did fine relying on that first attribute. Angel Pagan remains under the Mets’ control this offseason, but the concern is that his offensive numbers could fuel an arbitration award of $6 million or more. So the Mets must at least weigh dumping him if they decide the cost exceeds the value.

In the 42nd round of the Major League Baseball draft on Wednesday, the Mets selected John (J.J.) Franco, the son of former Mets reliever John Franco.

"It feels pretty cool, especially growing up as a little kid and coming to the ballpark with my dad," the younger Franco told reporters via phone Wednesday afternoon.

J.J. played four years of high school baseball for Poly Prep in Brooklyn, as a shortstop and right-handed pitcher. He had committed to play for Brown University before being drafted, and admitted he wasn't sure he would be chosen.

"I was trying not to get my hopes up," J.J. said.

But after the Mets selected him, he suddenly had a decision in front of him -- and he has already made it.

"I'm gonna go forward and go on to Brown next year to continue my education," J.J. said. "It will give me some time to grow as a player."