The Mets bench now looks something like this:

C — Mike Nickeas
IF — Ronny Cedeno
IF — Justin Turner
OF — Scott Hairston
OF — ?

As it stands right now, Mike Baxter seems likely to edge out Josh Satin for that fifth spot, if only because Baxter’s lefthanded-batting-ness and outfielder-ness fit better on the righthanded-hitting heavy bench.

– Patrick Flood, PatrickFloodBlog.com.

Yikes — doesn’t look so pretty when you spell it all out like that. Each guy is defensible in his role, but outside of Hairston there’s really not a lot of offensive might there. Turner can get on base a bit, which is useful.

But like Patrick points out, they’re all right-handed. And given the way Terry Collins relies on platoon matchups with his pinch-hitters, expect to see a left-handed hitter given that fifth spot, and expect that left-handed hitter to get hell of a lot of opportunities off the bench.

After the Hairston signing last week, some discussion surfaced over whether the Mets should or should not (and would or would not) re-sign Willie Harris, but if they’re going to carry Cedeno and Turner, there’s no real solid case for adding Harris to the roster. With two backup infielders in the fold, Harris’ defensive versatility becomes less valuable, and it can’t be that hard to find a better hitting lefty bat on the cheap.

Based on the Mets’ needs, they’ll likely be looking to fill that last spot with a guy who can hit left-handed and play at least a vaguely passable center field, depending on how comfortable they are with Hairston as the backup in center. Looking at the remaining free agents, it doesn’t seem like there are a lot of guys in their price range likely to do either of those things way better than Mike Baxter. Plus Baxter brings the additional upside of being 27 and under team control, so if he succeeds in the role he could fill it for a while.

Of course, a lot can still happen between now and Opening Day, and something almost always does.

Yeah?

I guess that would mean the Mets feel Cedeno is that much more valuable than Omar Quintanilla at the minimum, and hey — maybe he is. Cedeno can’t hit, but he seems to be a pretty good defender at shortstop and second base. UZR has him a tick above average at short for the last three years, for whatever that’s worth, and Dave the Pirates fan from my baseball game in Brooklyn references Ronny Cedeno whenever anyone makes a nice play on the infield. (Dave’s a pretty astute baseball guy so that probably carries similar weight to UZR.)

Get up for the Ronny Cedeno show. Suck it, Jack Wilson.

I should’ve slept more last night.

A source familiar with the situation has said that the Mets have hired CRG Partners — the turnaround consultants that handled the Rangers’ bankruptcy sale — and that a team sale with or without bankruptcy is on the table. The Mets have confirmed the hiring, stating that they have “engaged CRG Partners to provide services in connection with financial reporting and budgeting processes.”

Hiring turnaround consultants doesn’t necessarily mean that the team is specifically preparing for bankruptcy and a sale — consultants like these are brought in to figure out how a struggling business can become profitable — but it further underscores the Mets’ moribund financial situation. Also, a turnaround company typically gets only a modest fee if it comes in and merely makes recommendations; it has a considerable economic incentive to push for a huge sale when a sizable commission is in the offing.

– Eno Sarris, AmazinAvenue.com.

So there’s that. The Mets confirmed their association with CRG about an hour after Eno published the story, lest you think all my skepticism regarding anonymous sources should fly out the window when the source speaks through someone whose work I clearly appreciate and link all the time — Sarris’ frequent and shameless blasting of Ruben Tejada notwithstanding.

By 6 a.m. this morning, I saw people suggesting the story was being overhyped and/or overblown, but I’d urge anyone thinking as much to read Eno’s original report. I think it’s being subjected to some undue criticism precisely because he took care to qualify everything and make sure he distinguished the facts from his speculation.

I’ll add only that the news shouldn’t really be all that surprising: It’s not exactly a secret that the Mets and their owners are in some pretty serious financial straits, so it makes a hell of a lot of sense for them to be engaging consultants experienced in those matters.

Imagine, then, Mr. Met as Sisyphus, muscling his head up the steep hill of tough Mets history.

– Richard Sandomir, N.Y. Times.

Done.

Read the rest. It’s pretty great, though it’s, ahem, downhill from there. There’s some obvious LOLMets stuff in it, but it’s definitely worth your time.

According to the Daily News, the Mets have signed Scott Hairston to a Major League contract, pending a physical.

Good. This move has been unanimously endorsed on the Mostly Mets Podcast a couple of times. Hairston plays all three outfield positions pretty well, hits for power off the bench, doesn’t seem to mind a part-time role, and saw Michael Jackson in concert when he was young.

Hairston’s a good defensive replacement for Lucas Duda in right, he can spell Andres Torres in center if necessary, and he’s really not much of a drop-off from 2010-11 Jason Bay in left. This obviously isn’t the move that puts the Mets over the top in 2012, but it’s a fine one regardless.