Omar Minaya held firm on his minor-league offer to Kiko Calero, and came out the winner in the negotiations.

Calero signed a one-year, minor league contract that will pay him $850,000 plus incentives if he makes the Major League roster.

According to the The New York Times:

Calero was so eager to join the Mets that he was seen walking through the clubhouse before the team had a chance to announce the signing.

As you read a few days ago, I supported an MLB contract for Calero — so for me this is outstanding news and a very smart, low-risk gamble. It is surprising that Calero has been available for this long after a fine comeback season in ’09 — kudos to Minaya for waiting him out.

Next on the docket is Joe Beimel, who would fit right in as a second LOOGY to Pedro Feliciano. It appears that Minaya is sticking to the same strategy of waiting — and several sources report that Beimel is indeed on the Mets’ radar. Hopefully it works out as well — and it might, because every day that goes by is another day lost for a guy like Beimel to make a team. The only risk is that there are at least a handful of teams who could use an extra veteran LOOGY — and one of them could be the Phillies.

Good news, Mets fans: Jose Reyes is NOT pregnant.

Steve Popper was the first to report that news on Twitter early yesterday, and further blood work evaluated last night confirms it.

Whew! That would have been a major issue for the Mets, who already are without Carlos Beltran for the first few months of the season.

Though, I imagine Jose would have been able to stay on the field for the first trimester … but almost certainly would have been out of uniform by June. Even if he felt great, you’d have to think that his belly would have gotten in the way of reaching down for ground balls — not to mention the weight gain putting a strain on his already suspect legs.

In other good news for Mets fans, Hisanori Takahashi has cleared up his visa problem and can now take the mound in exhibition games. No word on whether he’ll be wearing Ken Takahashi’s old jersey.

Additionally, the Mets signed Kiko Calero — full post coming soon.

But there’s still more to cheer about — Ike Davis hit a grand slam and David Wright hit a homerun in his first at-bat as the Mets pounded the Cardinals 17-11.

Finally, things are looking up for the New York Mets!