CHICAGO — Though they are fixated on adding a power bat such as Matt Holliday’s or Jason Bay’s, the Mets are in the words of an involved party “absolutely in” on free agent Chone Figgins.
One Mets official said Figgins would be “hard to fit” into their current situation. Translation: It would be a whole lot easier if they could trade the two years and $12 million left on Luis Castillo’s contract to create money and a second base opening for Figgins.
“Castillo is definitely in play,” an NL executive said. For example, the Mets talked to the Diamondbacks about flipping Castillo for catcher Chris Snyder, a discussion that now appears dead.
The other alternative would be to play Figgins in left field and try to add power at first base, but that would either necessitate a trade or a free-agent gamble (Carlos Delgado or Russell Branyan, both of whom had injuries last year), and the Mets badly want to find a surer power source in free agency and not touch the best of their prospect base. At full health and with Figgins, the Mets could have a top three in the lineup of Reyes, Figgins and Carlos Beltran, all of whom are speedy switch-hitters.
Omar Minaya met at the GM Meetings with the representative for Figgins, Seth Levinson, who also is Castillo’s agent.
Jerry Manuel is a huge supporter of going after Figgins. He sees Figgins’ speed as a huge asset, specifically at big Citi Field. He thinks Figgins’ versatility would help the Mets if they had another spate of injuries. And he believes that Figgins could serve as a top-of-the-order influence on Reyes.
The Angels have prioritized trying to re-sign Figgins, who led the American League with 101 walks, stole 42 bases and generated a .395 on-base percentage.
Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro told The Post on Tuesday that he did not envision having the budget to incorporate Figgins as a third base replacement for Pedro Feliz. But SI.com reported yesterday that the Phillies are in the mix, which would give the Phillies the opportunity to bat Figgins atop the lineup with Shane Victorino and drop Jimmy Rollins (21 homers) to more of an RBI role.
It is likely Figgins, who will be 32 next season, will demand a three- or four-year contract at between $8 million to $10 million annually.
joel.sherman@nypost.com