WASHINGTON — The notion of John Maine taking over as the Mets’ closer appears dead, at least for now. GM Omar Minaya said today that, despite Maine’s professed willingness to finish games, the Mets’ current plan is for the young right-hander to remain in the rotation.

“Right now, John Maine going into next season is a starter,” Minaya said. “We see him as a starter. We don’t see him as a closer.”

At the same time, Minaya admitted the team’s thinking could change during the offseason if the Mets can’t find what they consider a viable replacement in the wake of Billy Wagner’s Tommy John surgery.

“Is [Maine] an option [to close]? We’ll have to consider that sometime in the winter,” Minaya said. “We’ll see what the free-agent market brings and we’ll see what the trade [market] does.”

K-Rod, anyone?