Piazza’s on te Road Again

NEW YORK — Now they have two All-Star catchers.

With Friday’s acquisition of Mike Piazza, the New York Mets will find themselves in a delicate situation when Todd Hundley is ready to come back: How do they keep both Hundley and Piazza in the lineup?

“I don’t have a reaction,” Hundley said after the trade was announced. “Today, the New York Mets are a better team. Time will tell if I change positions.”

Hundley, 28, had a ligament in his right elbow replaced Sept. 26 and this week started swinging a bat. He hopes to return sometime after the All-Star break but doesn’t know when.

“Arm strength is the key,” he said.

Met Manager Bobby Valentine said he wasn’t even thinking about how he would handle his lineup.

“Todd’s situation is exactly the same it was yesterday,” Valentine said. “It’s in the hands of Mother Nature.”

On Tuesday, Met General Manager Steve Phillips told Hundley they wouldn’t be trading for Piazza. The Mets changed their strategy the next day, and Phillips telephoned Hundley on Friday to tell him about the trade before it was announced.

“That was a difficult conversation,” Phillips said. “Certainly credibility is part of any supervisor’s job.”

Phillips said more moves may follow, and that some major trades could be made.

In the meantime, Hundley didn’t seem to worry.

“Where do we both play if in the lineup together?” Hundley asked out loud. “They made the trade. They have to decide.”

Hundley joked about needing a mask to play first base. But John Olerud, the current first baseman, is the Mets’ best hitter at .343.

“I played outfield before in Instructional League,” Olerud said. “I can play another position. As to how well I can play another position, that’s a whole other story.”

Met co-owner Fred Wilpon said the deal was bigger than the team’s acquisition of Keith Hernandez from St. Louis in 1983 or its trade with Montreal for Gary Carter before the 1985 season.

“When Gary Carter came here, I didn’t think Gary was of this magnitude,” Wilpon said. “Keith wasn’t as well known at the time.”