It doesn’t sound like Carlos Beltran is going to be ready for Opening Day

Carlos Beltran told Adam Rubin of ESPN New York earlier this afternoon that while he has been cleared for some baseball activities, he will be limited to hitting and other non-running activities for the time being.

Beltran reports that his knee currently feels “60 percent better” than it did one week ago and according to Jon Heyman of SI.com, he hopes to play in a game within a week.

Such a timetable obviously gives Beltran little time to get reps in right field, so the odds of him being ready for the season are getting pretty long at this point. Beltran essentially admitted as much to Rubin this afternoon, saying that Opening Day isn’t the finish line.

“I would love to be there for Opening Day, and I’m shooting for that for sure. But, at the same time, we’re being careful with this. I’m being careful. And I want to make sure that when I’m in there, I’m in there.”

If Beltran starts the season on the disabled list, the Mets will likely go with some combination of Scott Hairston, Willie Harris and Lucas Duda in right field.