PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Fred Wilpon provided the deep pockets. Omar Minaya provided the vision. And when Astros owner Drayton McLane yanked a no-trade clause and the Yankees declined to enter the fray for Carlos Beltran at the 11th hour Saturday night despite an assurance they would prevail with a $100 million bid, the Mets had another bold improvement for their extreme winter makeover.

Four weeks after landing Pedro Martinez, the free-spending Mets continued their out-of-character offseason by winning the bidding for Beltran, a 27-year-old switch-hitting center fielder. Agent Scott Boras’ haul for his client: a seven-year, $119 million contract that includes an $11 million signing bonus, though the deal – which still was being finalized Sunday – is worth closer to $115 million when deferred payments are properly valued.

“(The Mets came) to Puerto Rico and we had a good meeting. He was very honest with me,” Beltran said from the home of his parents, Carmen and Wilfredo in Manati, Puerto Rico. “At the same time, I was considering Houston. But I have some needs and (Astros owner Drayton) McLane said to Scott that he wanted some flexibility with the contract. So that was one of the reasons I chose the Mets. McClane wanted to give me (just the first) two years with a no-trade and that wasn’t a good deal. The Mets came through and showed a lot of interest in me. They saw a commitment with me.”

“I’ve known Omar since I was 18 and I’ve known Tony (Bernazard, a special assistant to Minaya) for a long time. (Bernazard) knows how to get to young players and he knows about talent. They really showed me about commitment to the future by adding Pedro (Martinez). They’re heading in the right direction.”

Minaya may not be done, either. After dining with President Bush, his former Texas Rangers boss, tonight at the White House, the GM plans to meet with Carlos Delgado and agent David Sloane this week in Puerto Rico. Team bigwigs are expected on the island to hold a news conference with Beltran – as they did with Martinez in Santo Domingo on Dec. 17.

Beltran is expected to take a physical at the Hospital for Special Surgery on the upper East Side as soon as today. News conference details were still being worked out into last evening, though one appears slated for tomorrow, regardless of the Yankees’ scheduled introduction of Randy Johnson the same day.

Houston, which rode Beltran’s gaudy postseason production (.435, eight homers, 14 RBI in 46 at-bats) to within a game of the World Series, faced a midnight deadline Saturday to complete negotiations or lose the right to continue talking. And Mets officials, as they awaited a decision from their homes, had no idea how close they were to losing Beltran. McLane had upped the Astros’ final offer to $108 million over seven years, a negligible difference with the Mets’ offer when tax differences are considered. But Houston – Beltran’s preference between the teams with other factors equal, according to one insider – eliminated itself in the final hours by pulling a no-trade provision from the table.

“We had a lot of conversations with the Astros (Saturday) night. We were close to making a deal with them, but there was some commitment I wanted, especially with the no-trade clause,” Beltran said. “That’s the difference between the Mets and the Astros. I’ve been waiting to get to this point and I didn’t want to go through what I went through in Kansas City. I wanted to go to one place for a long time.”

As midnight approached, Boras again tried engaging the Yankees, telling them Beltran’s first priority had been to play in pinstripes, and he would be theirs with a six-year, $100 million offer, according to a source familiar with the night’s activities. The Yankees, while considerably impressed with Beltran’s skills, had not valued the center fielder as a $16 million-a-year player in their internal discussions and didn’t want to pay the 40 percent luxury tax on that amount. They also didn’t want to pay Beltran at the level of Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez, and again declined.

“They were interested,” Beltran said. “But it would have been tough since, I believe, their payroll is over $200 million.”

Beltran, in his career prime, batted a combined .267 with 38 homers, 104 RBI and 42 stolen bases with Kansas City and Houston last season. Presuming Willie Randolph pencils Jose Reyes, Kazuo Matsui and Beltran into his 1-2-3 slots, the first-year manager has three switch-hitters at the top of his order each capable of stealing 30 bases.

“I know some of the guys from when I was with Houston. They have a lot of young players – at third they have (David) Wright,” Beltran said, “And (Reyes) has the potential to be really good. I can add a lot more to the team. I can put some speed on the bases and at the plate. I can play defense, but I really believe I can help a lot of the young players, too. And I’ll work hard to perform well.”

When the Mets were interested in obtaining Beltran from the Royals during last season, a frustrated – and now displaced – former free agent Mike Cameron said: “I would have went on to Atlanta. I could play right field anywhere.”

Cameron, one winter after signing a three-year, $19.5 million contract, softened his stance in the offseason, publicly saying he would embrace a move to right field for Beltran during a meeting in Atlanta with Minaya shortly after the season.

“Well, that’s something they’ll have to figure out, but I know Cameron said to Omar that he agreed to only play center field unless they can go out and sign Carlos Beltran,” Beltran said. “Then he would switch. But I think we’ll have a pretty good outfield with (Cliff) Floyd and me and Cam.”

Cameron may be sidelined until May anyway, after having surgery on Dec. 14 to repair cartilage damage in his left wrist. Though it’s not likely at this point, Cameron could be in left field rather than right if the Cubs soften in their stalled negotiations with the Mets and swap Sammy Sosa for Cliff Floyd.

For now, the emphasis turns to Delgado, though there’s a sense among Mets insiders that payroll constraints may finally prevent them from winning that battle. Delgado could provide the middle-of-the-order jolt the Mets need now that they have their table-setters in place – the kind of pop that signing free-agent Travis Lee or trading for defensive-oriented Doug Mientkiewicz from Boston cannot provide. The Mets made an initial three-year, $30 million offer to Delgado, but they now may get into the bidding in earnest against competition that includes the Orioles, Rangers and Marlins.

“I believe (Minaya) will continue to go out and find other players,” Beltran said. “I know they have an interest in Carlos Delgado, who’s not only a great player, but a great human being. (Minaya) is focusing on ability and the type of person.”

Regardless, Minaya and the Mets already have succeeded in radically overhauling their roster and the perception of the organization.

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(c) 2005, New York Daily News.

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AP-NY-01-09-05 2320EST