Life exists in the Mets’ front office, a more startling potential discovery than green men on Mars.
The fact general manager Omar Minaya has a pulse became evident around 6 p.m. yesterday as he announced the Mets had acquired outfielder Jeff Francoeur from the Braves for Ryan Church.
Hardly a blockbuster, this could be considered a caffeine jolt for a team in desperate need of a jump-start as Carlos Beltran, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes sit on the disabled list and the losses mount.
The 25-year-old Francoeur was hitting .250 with five homers and 35 RBIs in 82 games for the Braves. He is expected to be in the lineup tonight for the Mets and assume fulltime duties in right field, putting another former Gold Glove winner in the lineup.
“We’ve got to keep on trying to do these kind of things,” Minaya said before the Mets’ 3-0 loss to the Reds last night. “We’re not going to say, ‘OK, this is it.’ As a front office we’re going to continue to try to do things to shake it up a little bit — not just be complacent and say, ‘This is it.’ ”
So ends the troubled Mets tenure for Church, who became a resident in manager Jerry Manuel’s doghouse this season after missing most of last year because of concussions.
Minaya termed it a “change of scenery” trade. Francoeur had become somewhat of a misfit in Atlanta, where fans had lost patience with his lack of plate discipline — he has walked just 12 times this season with 46 strikeouts. But Minaya saw the need for a right-handed bat and liked the idea of having Francoeur, who won a Gold Glove in 2007, patrolling cavernous right field at Citi Field.
“This is a trade not only for now, but this is a trade we see for next year and beyond,” Minaya said.
The Mets also will receive cash as part of the deal. Francoeur, who is making $3.375 million this year, does not become a free agent until after the 2011 season.
Church, who also doesn’t become a free agent until after 2011, is making $2.8 million this season.
“It’s a shocker, it came out of nowhere,” Church said, referring to the trade. “But we’re both in a good situation.”
Church denied he had a rift with Manuel. “I’d go to war with that guy any day of the week,” Church said.
Minaya dismissed any concerns of trading with an NL East rival and said he expects Church will be rejuvenated by the deal and perform well for the Braves.
“We never got a chance to see the Ryan Church that was the Ryan Church in 2007 with Washington,” Minaya said. “We got part of that [player] last year and then he got hurt.”
Church joked about the four-game series the Mets play in Atlanta beginning Thursday and how he knows the signs and the players’ tendencies.
“There are no hard feelings, I loved it here,” Church said. “I got here and got a chance to meet a lot of great people and had an opportunity to play for a good team.”
mpuma@nypost.com