MLB

Wright won’t deal with Mets in-season

David Wright isn’t in a hurry to talk turkey with the Mets.

The All-Star third baseman told WFAN Friday he will not negotiate a new contract during the season. It’s a tactic Wright hopes will eliminate a potential distraction, but also provides the Mets with a narrower window during which to re-sign him.

“I think there’s too much good going on right now with this team and so many positive vibes with this team right now that it wouldn’t be fair to my teammates,” Wright said before Johan Santana’s no-hitter gave the Mets an 8-0 victory over the Cardinals. “It wouldn’t be fair to this team to do something as selfish as talk about a contract for me.

“It doesn’t just affect me. It affects the guys in the clubhouse and it affects the vibe that’s in the clubhouse.”

The Mets may have made a tactical blunder in assuming Wright wanted to negotiate in-season. He was never asked, and has recently landed in the uncomfortable position of answering questions about a contract extension he’s not ready to negotiate.

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In 2011, Jose Reyes told the Mets he had no desire to negotiate a contract in-season. The shortstop ultimately became a free agent and signed a $106 million deal with the Marlins.

Wright’s case is different. The Mets hold an option on Wright for 2013 worth $16 million. The team is expected to exercise that option, then work toward negotiating a new deal with Wright.

A former National League executive with close ties to Wright and the front office said waiting on negotiating a new deal is probably the best tactic for both parties.

“I’ve always been leery about guys talking about contract extensions during the course of the season,” the person said. “At some point you touch base with [the agents], get a sense of the parameters, but say, ‘This is something I think is better done when the season is over, but our intention is we want to make a run at it and try to sign him.’“As soon as there’s an offer made, it becomes hard to keep that a secret. All of a sudden then they have to tell David and you don’t know how David is going to react to that kind of stuff.There are too many downsides to talking about this type of thing during the season. If he’s going through his struggles in August or September and [the Mets] had made a lowball offer, it’s just a no-win situation.”

Wright is batting .366 with five homers and 31 RBIs. The benchmark for a new deal would be the six-year contract worth $100 million Ryan Zimmerman recently signed with the Nationals.

Wright, who will turn 30 later this year, figures to seek a deal of at least the same length as Zimmerman’s, probably at a higher dollar value.

With the Bernie Madoff litigation no longer an issue, the Mets are expected to have the resources to make a competitive bid on Wright, who has indicated a strong preference to remain in the organization in which he grew up.

“I don’t think David is the kind of guy that is going to ask for every last dollar,” the former NL executive said. “Some of these guys say ‘I’m not going to give a hometown discount.’ I don’t see David being that type of guy.”

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Chris Schwinden was designated for assignment to create roster space for reliever Elvin Ramirez. The righty Ramirez had a zero ERA in 11 appearances for Triple-A Buffalo.

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Chris Young, Jeremy Hefner and Miguel Batista are all candidates to start Monday’s game against the Cardinals, according to manager Terry Collins.

Young, in his comeback from shoulder surgery, dazzled with six shutout innings for Buffalo on Thursday. Hefner will be on call to start today’s game if the weather gets too wet because Collins does not want R.A. Dickey pitching in the rain. Dickey has struggled to grip his knuckleball in wet weather.

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Ruben Tejada is scheduled to run bases Saturday and could begin a minor league rehab assignment by Monday. … Jason Bay could begin playing the field by Monday in Port St. Lucie, putting him in position to be activated later in the week.