The Mets are not the only team interested in Ramirez, but their biggest competition is expected to be the Angels. The Phillies did have dialogue with Boston about a Ramirez-for-Bobby Abreu swap, but several sources said such a deal was a longshot since the Phillies would prefer a starting pitcher in return for Abreu (they were hoping to get Javier Vazquez from Arizona but that seems unlikely) and also aren't interested in taking on Ramirez's bloated contract.

If the Mets were in the market for another outfielder, they actually might be the best fit for the Phillies since they've got starters to burn and have received numerous calls about Kris Benson. Although there were preliminary conversations between the Mets and Orioles about a deal that would send Benson to Baltimore for reliever Jorge Julio, it now appears several other teams could offer a more attractive package in exchange for the Mets righthander, and Minaya is expected to gauge his best move next week.

Of course, while he's doing that, he'll also be talking about Ramirez. Assuming Ramirez would waive his trade veto rights to come to Shea, the biggest hang-up the Mets may have in making a deal - other than the massive amount of money involved in such a transaction - may be that several team officials, according to one source, have become more leery of trading top prospect Lastings Milledge. Boston had always received Milledge in previous versions of the proposed blockbuster, but after landing big-ticket players Carlos Delgado and Billy Wagner, there is a contingent of Mets brass who would prefer to hold on to the prized outfield prospect.

Still, Minaya has openly lusted after Ramirez for a while now and it's hard to believe he'd pass on an opportunity to get him. The one thing that would have to happen for the Mets to do such a deal, however, is a cut in payroll somewhere else.

That is just one reason why moving Benson would be helpful, especially given that the Mets have a surplus of starters, even if Aaron Heilman remains in the bullpen.

Minaya is said to be intrigued by Julio, a hard-throwing righthander who lost the O's closer's job to B.J. Ryan last year and struggled to a 3-5 record with a 5.90 ERA as a setup man. He has a very live arm, scouts say, but is a bit temperamental.

Of course, his salary is also attractive to the Mets: Julio made $2.5 million last year and is arbitration-eligible this winter, so it's likely he'll earn around $3 million in 2006 - much less than the nearly $15.5 million guaranteed to Benson over the next two seasons.

Yet the Mets figure to be able to get much more than just Julio in a deal for Benson and, with a dearth of quality starters on the free-agent market, there's plenty of demand.

It's possible such a deal could come together during next week's winter meetings, where the Mets also will be focusing on trying to land a catcher ... and figuring out where they are with Ramirez.

DOTE ON DOTEL: Octavio Dotel told The Associated Press in the Dominican Republic yesterday that he probably wouldn't be ready to pitch until midsummer following elbow surgery, but had received calls expressing interest in him from four clubs, including the Mets. ... Mets coach Manny Acta interviewed for the Dodgers' managerial opening yesterday. Former Red Sox skipper Grady Little also is a candidate for the job.