MET NOTES
Last week, it was Jose Guillen. This week, it’s Reggie Sanders.
The Mets, who appear to be making a priority of filling their void in right field, now have met with their second right fielder in as many weeks. Monday night, Sanders celebrated his 36th birthday by dining with Mets GM Jim Duquette before going to the Knicks-Pistons game at the Garden. Sanders met with Mets brass again yesterday morning.
This follows last week’s summit with Guillen, the A’s free-agent outfielder who also met with the club in New York.
The Post first reported the team’s interest in Sanders Nov. 17. In 2003, he hit .285 with 31 homers for Pittsburgh, posting a .345 on-base percentage.
At 36, Sanders, a free agent, does not represent the Mets’ ideal plan of getting younger. Then again, he likely would cost the Mets less money than Guillen, who at 27 and coming off a career year could be primed for bigger dollars. Nevertheless, the Mets could make Guillen an offer as early as Monday.
In the infield, the Mets are believed to have conducted an inquiry about Giants free-agent shortstop Rich Aurilia, a Brooklyn native who hit .277 with 13 homers and 58 RBIs in 2003. The Mets’ inquiry was designed to gauge Aurilia’s makeup as well as his willingness to play in New York and his thoughts on playing another position.
If the Mets went after the 32-year-old Aurilia, they likely would ask him to play second or third (in the latter case, they’d move Ty Wigginton to second). According to Aurilia’s agent, Barry Axelrod, Aurilia would be willing to switch positions under certain circumstances.
“If it was the right spot, the right team and the right circumstance,” Axelrod said. “I don’t think he’s going to be opposed to that.”
The Mets’ top infield target, of course, remains Kaz Matsui. But industry speculation continues to be that the Dodgers and Angels are the favorites for the Japanese sensation with the Yankees right behind.
If the Mets signed Matsui, they would have to move Jose Reyes to second. Soon after the season ended, Duquette told Reyes that he would be their shortstop unless they acquired a superstar player at that position. Whether the Mets believe Matsui could be that type of player is the question.
* Marlins director of international operations Fred Ferreira, who interviewed for the Mets’ assistant GM/superscout position, said yesterday that he’s not interested in the job.
“I never really was 100 percent interested,” Ferreira said. “I just wanted to hear what they had. As of [yesterday], I’m no longer interested.”
The Mets are expected to hire one or two assistants from the mix of Lee Thomas, Bill Livesey and Ron Schueler.
