If Carlos Beltran really wants to remain a Met, he’s not making it easy on general manager Sandy Alderson.
The right fielder returned to the lineup last night after missing three games with the flu and reminded the numerous scouts on hand to see him why he’ll be coveted as the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline approaches.
Beltran’s presence — along with that of Jose Reyes — completely transformed the Mets’ lineup as the duo combined for five hits in a 4-2 win over the Cardinals at Citi Field.
“I’ve gotta be careful I don’t get myself in trouble,” Terry Collins said. “It’s quite obvious what [Reyes] means. He showed tonight the electricity that he brings just lifts the club. And the No. 3 guy [Beltran] gets in there, out three days with the flu and everybody’s worried about him not having any energy, losing weight, not having the strength to walk up there, and it looks like he hasn’t missed a beat.
“Our lineup certainly changes with those two guys in that order.”
Collins hopes he can continue to write a similar lineup into August and beyond, but with interest in Beltran only building, he seems all but gone — even if he doesn’t admit it.
“Hopefully, we start winning ball games and we all stay here,” Beltran said. “Right now, I haven’t had any conversations with anyone. I’m here and I look forward to go out and playing. Whatever happens is gonna happen.”
The right fielder, who is being looked at by scouts from the Red Sox, Rangers, Giants and others, had a pair of two-out doubles in the first and third innings off Kyle Lohse to raise his average against the St. Louis righty to .564.
He then walked in the fifth and sixth and scored on a long two-out double to center by Daniel Murphy that extended the Mets’ lead to 4-1.
Reyes, playing his first game since coming off the 15-day disabled list with a strained left hamstring, didn’t make as immediate an impact, but his single to lead off the fifth sparked the first Mets’ rally.
And then his glove helped save the game in the eighth.
Bobby Parnell started the inning in relief of Dillon Gee and found trouble.
A Jon Jay grounder seemed destined to be an RBI hit to left, but Reyes ranged far to his right and limited him to an infield single to bring up Albert Pujols with the bases loaded.
Reyes then snagged Pujols’ grounder up the middle and started a 6-6-3 double play to stop the threat.
“When I saw Jose standing on second base, I thought we had a pretty good chance,” Parnell said.
It helped keep the Mets in front and make a winner of Gee (9-3), who retired the first 10 batters he faced and didn’t allow a hit until mishandling a David Freese comebacker in the fifth. He’d won just once in his previous five outings after starting 7-0.
Just as important, Reyes reported no problems after the game.
“It is a relief there was no problem,” Reyes said. “I tested my leg in a lot of different ways . . . and I didn’t feel anything.”
Still, he admitted his “confidence is not where it needs to be yet.”
A few more games like last night will likely change that. And having Beltran out there with him — for now — won’t hurt.
dan.martin@nypost.com