PORT ST. LUCIE — Carlos Beltran wasn’t exactly humming the lyrics to John Fogerty’s “Centerfield” as he arrived at the Mets’ spring training complex yesterday.
The veteran outfielder was expected to give manager Terry Collins an idea about his fitness to play center field this season, but instead put his recommendation on hold for seven-to-10 days, until he can complete a supervised running program.
Even if Beltran tells Collins and general manager Sandy Alderson he is ready to reclaim center, it’s possible he ultimately could be overruled and moved to right field in favor of Angel Pagan. But it’s also possible Beltran will tell team brass his surgically repaired right knee is not 100 percent, and he should be placed in right.
“If I feel good physically, then I would love to play center field,” Beltran said. “But, at the same time, in my mind this is not my last year in the big leagues. I want to play for many more years. If my knee is causing the problem and it’s best for me in the long term in my career to move to right field, where I have to run less than center field, I have to make that move.”
Though Beltran worked out during the offseason, he said most of his drills were agility-related and did not entail a running program. Beltran, entering the final season of a seven-year contract worth $120 million, said his heart tells him his knee will be healthy enough for him to play center field. And Collins is operating under the assumption Beltran feels good about center, but just wants to make sure by completing the running program.
Collins said he was impressed with what he heard from Beltran during their morning meeting.
“I can’t tell you how many times he said, ‘This is about the team, it’s not about Carlos Beltran,’” Collins said. “He knows his body very well. He knows he has more time left — I don’t think he’s ready to be a DH and go to the American League. He’s too good an athlete for that, so I think he’s really [saying], ‘Hey, look, I’ve got to prepare myself to play the outfield as much as I possibly can,’ and whether it’s in right field or center field, that’s yet to be determined.”
Beltran wore a sleeve on his right knee yesterday, but said he will return to wearing a brace, which needs to be refitted.
Last season, Beltran returned to the Mets after the All-Star break and struggled both at the plate and in center field. Pagan shifted to right field after Beltran’s return, but established himself as a dynamic player in center over the season’s first 31⁄2 months.
Beltran, when healthy, is certainly no slouch defensively.
“I’m thinking of putting myself in the position where I’m the type of player that people come to the ballpark to see,” he said. “Right now, physically, I feel good. I have to be smart about it, because this is not about spring training — it’s about being ready for the season, and I want to be ready for the season. I want to play every day.”
He also said it doesn’t matter if that playing time comes in center or right.
“I will be honest, because I won’t cheat myself,” Beltran said. “There is not a player I have met that wants to take the field and look terrible. I don’t want to embarrass myself.”
mpuma@nypost.com