PHILADELPHIA – Darryl Hamilton’s MRI’s might be negative, but so still are vibes coming out of the Mets’ center-field position. He is 35 years old with a foot hotter than his bat, or for that matter just about any bat of any regular in the outfield.

Derek Bell went into last night’s game hitting .160, which is 27 points higher than Hamilton and 30 higher than Rickey Henderson and among the reasons why the Mets were 3-4. It’s early, but the only thing looking more suspect than the Mets’ outfield offense is their outfield defense.

Steve Phillips runs to the phone faster than the left fielder runs to first. If Henderson doesn’t bear down, or breaks down, the GM will take a kick in the butt, but not from Hamilton, who needs orthotics. Bell is off to a bad start coming off a bad year, so we’ll see. No reason to panic yet, only to suspect Bobby Valentine may earn his contract extension just by moving around the shells. Or, the shells of the outfielders they used to be.

With Jim Edmonds traded and out of the mix, and not even Montreal and Kansas City out of the race for at least another week, getting an established player who someone can’t afford isn’t the Mets’ first option. “I’m not sure there is that kind of guy who is available who can make that kind of difference,” says Phillips. “But [Jay] Payton, [Melvin] Mora and [Jon] Nunnally are all capable defensive guys who are intriguing offensively as well. I’m excited to give them an opportunity to play.”

We’ll see if he still has the same enthusiasm come mid-May, but in the meantime, the Mets have to see what they have. Not only is center field screaming for a healthy and productive platoon, but the two corner outfield spots, now manned by players on the final year of their contracts, could open up next year. It’s just smart to find out what these kids, some of whom aren’t kids anymore, can do.

Payton, a prime prospect set back repeatedly by injuries, is out of options, which is why Benny Agbayani’s days with the Mets are limited. Payton has the bat with the most life, but Mora, heretofore typecast as a career minor leaguer, showed during the stretch drive and playoffs that he could do a lot of things well, if not one thing at an elevated level.

Last night was Nunnally’s chance to take his turn. As a left-handed batter, on a team that is too right-handed, the 28-year-old is worthy of an extended look, as well, even if he has been through four organizations and was dumped by the Red Sox for Jermaine Allensworth.

Nunnally, drafted out of the Indians organization by the Royals in the Rule V draft, suffered, like most Rule V draftees, for lack of playing development time. Traded to Cincinnati in 1997, he hit an intriguing .318, with 13 homers and 35 RBIs in 201 at-bats before his feet betrayed him.

First, the sesamoid bone in his left foot required October removal, then the sesamoid bone in the right foot required December removal. “I wasn’t running like I should have been [at spring training],” said Nunnally, who was optioned back to Indianapolis, then waived to Boston, which sent him to Pawtucket for the year.

“That wasn’t a bad thing,” he said. “I had never played a full year in Triple-A. I went down with a good attitude and let people know that I was serious about developing my game.”

Obviously, Boston thought that development has reached its limits, but Phillips clearly does not share that opinion. “He has the ability to hit the ball out of the ballpark,” said the GM. “Some guys can run first to third and can’t steal a base. This guy can steal a base.

“He plays all three outfield positions and he’s learned how to take a walk. We tried to get him from Cincinnati when they ran him through waivers last year, but didn’t have the roster space to do anything with it. He wound up in Boston and we kind of pestered Boston throughout the year.

“He’s a guy who hasn’t been able to stay in one place a long time to really get comfortable and develop some consistency. The Rule V draft oftentimes hurts players’ careers, even if it is well intended.

“He went from [Single-A] ball to the big leagues than was on the shuttle to Triple-A, and never had a chance to get down to Triple-A and figure out what kind of hitter he is going to be. He has legitimate power. We saw that in spring. We think he’s more than adequate at all three positions out there. He gets a very good jump, has a strong and accurate arm, a pretty good package.

“Between Mora, Nunnally, Agbayani, and Payton, there might be a guy who is an everyday player.”

At least it makes good organizational sense to find out.