NEW YORK -- With all signs pointing to the Mets making catcher Yorvit Torrealba as the catching successor to Paul Lo Duca, the Mets find themselves in a better position today for the offseason.

The Mets' plan -- to save their trading bullets for the pursuit of a starting pitcher who can provide at least as much as Tom Glavine did last season -- is borne in their sense that the free-agent market for starting pitchers is thin, leaving trades as the only means of accomplishing the rotation upgrade they hope to make.

The rotation, never particularly deep during the three years of the Omar Minaya-Willie Randolph regime, now has a void at the top. Recognizing the void, Minaya says the Mets are willing to deal some of their best prospects to obtain a top-of-the-line starter.

"There's no doubt, if you're going to trade for pitching in this market -- the way pitching is right now if you look at the free agents -- you're going to have to part with some premium guys," Minaya said on Wednesday.

"There's no doubt that our premium prospects are very well-liked. The question is whether we'd trade them. We could be players in some of the pitching that might be traded."

The "nobody's untouchable" posture the Mets have struck publicly is their actual mind-set as it applies to the organization's primary prospects, who are -- in order of value to the Mets -- Minor League outfielders Fernando Martinez and Carlos Gomez, Mike Pelfrey, Minor League starter Kevin Mulvey, Lastings Milledge and Philip Humber.

The six also constitute the only Mets prospects who seem to have appeal to other clubs.

While the club needs a second baseman, relief pitching and a left-handed-hitting outfielder, too, it hopes to fill those needs via free agency and trades that don't involve their premium prospects. Should free agent Luis Castillo return to play second base, the offseason restocking will be significantly easier.

The Mets can't afford to address all their needs via trades without undermining the future. As it is, they aren't likely to include more than two of the six in any one trade. And if they were to include two or three in one package, they would offer one from each group. For example: Martinez or Gomez plus Pelfrey or Mulvey, plus a lesser prospect.

The Mets also would be reluctant to include two of the three pitching prospects or two of the three outfielders in a package, so a deal involving Martinez and Milledge or Gomez and Milledge is unlikely. A deal involving Martinez and Gomez is highly unlikely. One involving two pitchers could happen if the return were special, say Johan Santana.

Of course, the Mets' willingness to deal prospects for a starting pitcher would diminish in the unlikely event Glavine returns. Though Minaya said on Wednesday, "I'm not resigned to [Glavine signing with the Braves]," the Mets have operated as if Glavine will not re-sign with them.

Glavine's agent, Gregg Clifton, met in Phoenix with Braves general manager Frank Wren on Wednesday. No offer was made, but the Braves have made bringing Glavine back a top priority. The Mets have not. They are waiting for him to make a decision.

As for who their reserve catcher will be, the Mets have agreed to a two-year deal with Ramon Castro. The contract is contingent on his passing a physical.