It’s the Winter Meetings, dammit! Here’s a post where I round up all the Mets-related rumors I’ve seen on MetsBlog and spew my opinions on them. SPOILER ALERT: Just about everything I say will include “depending on the price.”

Mets interested in Fred Lewis: Well that’s cool — depending on the price, of course. Lewis would make a fine fourth outfielder, and a legitimate contingency plan for the three penciled-in starters — all of whom have struggled with injuries recently or historically. He can play the corners and fill in at center field in a pinch.

And while Lewis won’t make anyone in New York forget Mickey Mantle, he can hit a bit too — especially against right-handed pitchers. For his career, the lefty-hitting Lewis has a solid .280/.354/.442 line against righties.

Mets close to signing Ronny Paulino: I feel like Ronny Paulino has been “close” to signing with the Mets like 15 times before. Paulino has a rep as a solid defensive catcher and fared well in Beyond the Boxscore’s catcher-defense rankings. He is not a great hitter, though his career .273/.328/.383 line is pretty similar to the 2010 National League average for catchers — .253/.326/.388.

Perhaps most importantly, the righty-hitting Paulino has, for his career, a marked platoon split. He’s got a measly .635 OPS against righties but an .881 mark against lefties, essentially the Matt Diaz of catchers. Assuming he doesn’t cost multiple years or numerous millions, he would be a great choice to spell Josh Thole against tough southpaws, or even in a straight platoon — since catchers need time off anyway. Combined, they’d give the Mets excellent offense from behind the plate.

Mets “in contact” with Russell Martin: Martin would also make a nice righty-hitting complement to Thole, but I don’t see this one happening. Martin reportedly rejected a one-year, $4.2 million deal from the Dodgers, so the only way I imagine the Mets getting seriously involved in his pursuit would be if he’s still a free agent later this winter.

The one interesting thing about Martin is that he has said he’s open to playing first, second and third next year if some team wants him for a super-utility role. But since the Mets have Thole in house, they could probably find better ways to spend $5 million.

Mets among 6-8 teams interested in D.J. Carrasco: How interested, though? Because if there are 5-7 other teams bidding on Carrasco I imagine he’s going to require a decent chunk of change, and he’s really not all that spectacular. If the Mets are trying to save money they should probably be searching the scrap heap or converting starters to fill out their pen, not signing free-agents. I’d pass on this one.

We should keep Jerry Hairston Jr.’s name in mind: I have no idea what that means, but I will do just that. I am a fan of Old Man Hairston’s kid. Plays every position pretty well, gives a team a lot of flexibility. Also, good guy.

Mets interested in every living unspectacular or recently injured free-agent starting pitcher: I mean, someone’s going to need to pitch. Maybe it’ll be Freddy Garcia or Chris Young or Jeff Francis. This one is almost entirely based on information I do not have access to: The cost and reports the pitcher’s health. Hard to speculate on which one of these guys would be best if I don’t know who seems most likely to hold up for a season.

Mets willing to take calls on every player, unlikely to deal stars: This seems like it’s probably true every year, right?

Mets might hire Moises Alou as first-base coach: Not a chance he stays healthy for the full season.

What’d I miss?

The Mets signed catcher Dusty Ryan to a Minor League deal today and invited him to Spring Training.

It’s certainly not a high-impact move or a big Winter Meetings splash. I imagine it won’t preclude the Mets from signing a more experienced right-handed complement/backup to Josh Thole, and I would guess that if Dusty Ryan ends up on the Major League Mets in 2011 it means someone is either hurt or woefully underperforming.

But Ryan — unlike so many of the guys signed by the Mets to be Minor League roster filler in recent years — actually has some upside. He is 26, for one thing. For another, he actually has some mild history of offensive production in the Minors.

Ryan does not make a ton of contact — he hit .199 in Triple-A in 2010. But he has demonstrated a decent batting eye at the level, and can boast a decent-for-a-catcher .237/.348/.416 line in 631 plate appearances in Triple-A. (As a point of reference, Omir Santos’ career Triple-A line is .251/.305/.324.) There is some chance Ryan can improve or enjoy a career year and actually contribute something positive to the Mets at the Major League level.

Right around this time last year, I wrote:

What neither Coste nor Cora will provide is upside. Upside is the chance a player can actually provide more to his team than he’s being paid to provide. Upside is something the Mets should be searching for among the potential Rule 5 Draft picks and non-tendered free agents. Upside is something worth committing money to when a team is operating with a finite budget.

Maybe I’m again reading to deeply into a minor move, or maybe the acquisition is yet another sign that things are looking up for the Mets. Point is there’ll be someone behind the plate in Triple-A that might actually outperform expectations and that’s, you know, cool.