On the Mets beat

General manager Omar Minaya spoke earlier today with the agent for Claudio Vargas, but it appears the Mets are willing to wait before going outside the organization for rotation help in the wake of the hamstring injury to Pedro Martinez.

Bean Stringfellow, the agent for Vargas, indicated that Minaya was not prepared to offer the righthander a starting job in the immediate future. The Mets won’t need a fifth starter until April 12 and Orlando Hernandez is eligible to come off the disabled list the following day. Martinez is expected to miss a minimum of four to six weeks with a left hamstring strain.

“Omar, to his credit, has been very upfront with me and I appreciate the Mets’ candor,” Stringfellow said today during a phone interview. “What I’m hearing from that situation, it just doesn’t jibe. I’m trying to get Claudio in the right situation, not a quick situation.”

Stringfellow did not rule out the Mets, but said he was close to a deal Monday night with another team before it fell through. And with a handful of other clubs interested, there is the strong possibility Vargas could be signed before the end of the weekend. Vargas, who was 11-9 with a 5.09 ERA for the Brewers last season, went 3-1 with a 3.86 ERA in five spring training starts before Milwaukee released him 10 days ago in a cost-cutting move.

The Mets also have interest in the Rangers’ Robinson Tejeda, a person familiar with the situation said yesterday, but they do not appear ready to make a move. Tejeda went 5-9 with a 6.61 ERA in 19 starts for Texas last season and the Rangers designated him for assignment last Sunday.