Beltran told ESPN New York, “In order for me to play center field, I need more time. I want to be on the same page with everyone here. I want Terry to have his time and to come to the ballpark ready to play the lineup without thinking where he is going to play Pagan, where he’s going to play me. At the same time I’m thinking about Pagan coming to the ballpark and preparing himself and focused to play baseball. I don’t want to create any distractions here. Like I said, I want to play right. I think it’s best for the team. I think it’s going to be best for me also, best for my knee. It’s going to be less active than playing center field.”

Beltran left his ego at the door and is being a team-player. He could have stayed in center field, but he knows he can extend his career by moving to right field.

Having Johan Santana (5-4 3.31 ERA), Cliff Lee (6-3 2.39 ERA) and Mike Pelfrey (9-2 2.69 ERA) at the top of the rotation would make the Mets instantly the favorites to win the NL East. R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese would round out the rotation while Hisanori Takahashi would head to the ‘pen. 

According to the Seattle Times:

The Mets have some pretty good young players of their own. Not catchers, mind you, but if the rumors coming out of New York are true, the M’s might have to ship Lee off to the Big Apple.

That’s because the rumors — and they are only rumors, but with some logic — say the Mets might offer top pitching prospect Jenrry Mejia and current major league outfielder Angel Pagan in a Lee swap. Wow, that one would be tough to decline.

The combination of Carlos Beltran returning soon, Citi Field being a pitcher friendly ballpark, and the NL East not having a clear cut favorite, all add up to this being a smart move for the Mets. Beltran’s return allows Pagan to be expendable and adding a top-notched starter to a team that plays well in their pitcher friendly ballpark can only help the Mets in a division that is up for grabs.

Yet that player is frequently thought of as Public Enemy #1: Luis Castillo.

Unlike past whipping boys (Roger Cedeno, Armando Benitez, Carlos Baerga, Roberto Alomar), Castillo really did turn himself around after a dismal year last year. Sure, he’s still a mediocre defensive player and has little pop in his bat and, of course, general manager Omar Minaya made a huge mistake in signing him to the four-year contract, but…. his .387 OBP was his best since 2005 and third best in his career—before a final swoon in the closing days he was hitting .313 on September 22nd, with an OBP of .401, both marks that put Castillo among the league leaders.

Since the Mets are stuck with him next year they should look at those numbers and think about what Castillo’s re-birth could mean to the 2010 Mets. If they’re smart, they’ll revisit an experiment Jerry Manuel tinkered with in spring training– Castillo, properly deployed, could actually solve a host of the Mets’ myraid problems and give fans hope for next season.

The one way he is worth close to the $8 million is as a lead-off hitter, which not only gives the Mets a true table-setter but it frees them to create a Citi Field lineup—one that would feel like the a vastly more talented version of the 1980s St. Louis Cardinals team that won three NL pennants (including one World Series) in five years, while giving the Mets fits.

With Castillo first, the Mets could drop Jose Reyes to third in the batting order. As a #3 hitter, Reyes could flourish like Hanley Ramirez–if he hits 12 homers, 20 triples and 35 doubles but has only a .350 OBP he is far more effective in that spot, and less likely to get frustrated or to frustrate fans, then he is in the lead-off slot.

With Reyes hitting third, Wright clean-up, Beltran 5th and Francoeur sixth, the Mets have a lineup with moderate power but capable of hitting balls in the big gaps at Citi Field. Angel Pagan, whose knack for triples fits perfectly in this new mindset, could play left and bat second or seventh, sharing both spots with doubles expert Daniel Murphy (who put his best numbers up in the #2 and #7 spots).

Think of it this way–if the lead-off hitter is Reyes, a lot of times he can’t maximize Castillo’s OBP since walks won’t advance Reyes and infield hits or little bloops to the outfield won’t drive home a run. Yet if Castillo leads off and reaches base in any of those fashions, he has the speed to score on a double or triple from Murphy, Pagan or Reyes.

Additionally, this new lineup means the Mets would just need to find a right-hander with power to spell Murphy and Pagan against lefties (like Jonny Gomes of the Reds) instead of a full-fledged star (having screwed up and not signed Adam Dunn last year)—that would be much more affordable in the open market or in terms of talent via a trade.

Thus they could devote more money or trade chips to acquiring a genuine #2 starter (like Jon Lackey), which is far and away the team’s biggest need. Astonishingly, all that can flow from acknowledging Castillo’s one real strength and building from there. If the Mets do it and win then maybe Castillo will even take home the 2010 MVP Award.

Stuart Miller is the author of “The 100 Greatest Days in New York Sports” and “Where Have All Our Giants Gone?”. You can visit is website at 100 Greatest Days in New York Sports.