Conflicting reports on the Mets’ interest in Michael Bourn

There has been a lot of chatter about the Mets and Michael Bourn in the past day or so. It breaks down like this:

• John Harper of the Daily News says that he has been told that the Mets have a real interest in Bourn.
• He also reports that the Mets not signing Scott Hairston, who just went to the Cubs, had more to do with playing time than with money, meaning that the Mets do not think they can give enough playing time to Bourn.
• Given that the Mets outfield, currently constructed, is butt, the strong suggestion here is that the Mets plan to get an outfielder who is better than Hairston, which describes Bourn.
• Bourn would cost anyone who signs him a first round pick, as long as it’s not in the top 10. The Mets current first round pick is the 11th. It would have been the tenth, however, if the Pirates had not been granted the 10th pick as compensation for their inability to sign their first round pick this past summer. So, Harper says, the Mets have petitioned the league to protect their 11th pick, surrendering a second round pick instead, in the event they sign a player, like Bourn, who was given a qualifying offer.

So, that adds up to the Mets being in on Bourn, right? Well:

Either way, one person familiar with #Mets doubts team will meet Scott Boras’ price for Bourn. “Zero chance,” he said.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 24, 2013

That kind of throws cold water on it.

Still, what is Boras’ price for Bourn at this point? It’s pushing February, and his client, one of the guys most folks assumed would snag top dollar this winter, is unsigned. Could that price be plummeting? It’s hard to imagine that it is given Boras’ track record. But we have seen him do things like agree to deferred money (the Rafael Soriano contract) so maybe he’s willing to be uber creative in order to ensure that Bourn, you know, gets a job.

Anyway, that’s the Michael Bourn-Mets situation right now. It’s hard to imagine the Mets going in on him either because of the money or the draft pick, but throw in both and, boy, it’s even harder. But people are still chirping about it, so it’s worth keeping an eye on.