BOSTON -- Unable to replace the speed they lost when they traded Roger Cedeno to Houston two years ago, the Mets brought him back to New York on Thursday.

	Roger Cedeno Outfield New York Mets Profile
	2001 SEASON STATISTICS GM HR RBI R SB AVG 131 6 48 79 55 .293

Cedeno agreed to an $18 million, four-year contract as the Mets made the third significant move in the past week to improve their struggling offense.

"We added another piece that makes us more of a threat offensively than a year ago," Mets general manager Steve Phillips said. "We definitely missed the speed element the last couple of years. With Roger and Roberto Alomar, we can impact the game in many ways now."

The Mets also Thursday agreed to a $9.4 million, three-year contract with free-agent reliever David Weathers. Weathers went 4-5 with four saves and a 2.41 ERA last season for Milwaukee and the Cubs.

Cedeno, who played for Detroit last season, joins Alomar, who came from Cleveland in an eight-player deal Monday, and outfielder David Justice, acquired from the Yankees last Friday.

After going to the World Series in 2000, the Mets went 82-80 this year, finishing with the fewest runs in the majors. They were second-to-last in average and homers in the NL and tied for 14th with 66 stolen bases.

Cedeno, traded to Houston after the 1999 season in the Mike Hampton deal, said five other teams, including Seattle, were interested in signing him and he took less money to play with the Mets.

	ESPN.com predicts
	The Mets' new-look lineup for the 2002 season: Roger Cedeno, RF Edgardo Alfonzo, 3B Roberto Alomar, 2B Mike Piazza, C David Justice, LF Todd Zeile, 1B Shinjo/Payton, CF Rey Ordonez, SS

"I was interested in playing with the Mets," he said. "I wanted to go back to the National League. I know the team. I know New York. I'm very excited to be coming back."

The 27-year-old switch-hitter spent 1999 with the Mets, hitting .313 with four homers, 36 RBI and a team-record 66 steals. He gives the Mets a leadoff threat and offense for an outfield that struggled to produce at the plate last season.

"It feels a heck of a lot better than last year's lineup," Phillips said. "We made significant progress in reaching our goal of improving our offense without increasing payroll or impacting our pitching."

Cedeno's biggest deficiency is his lack of defensive ability, and Phillips said he was more likely to play a corner outfield spot than center field. The Mets plan to use Justice in the other corner -- unless he's dealt. New York was said to be talking with Oakland about a deal.

"We'll listen to teams that inquire," Phillips said, "but he is a power and a threat in the lineup. A healthy David Justice is a productive hitter."

Cedeno struggled in 2000, playing just 74 games and hitting .282 with six homers, 26 RBI and 25 steals. After the season, Houston traded him to Detroit with right-hander Chris Holt and catcher Mitch Meluskey for catcher Brad Ausmus and right-handers Doug Brocail and Nelson Cruz.

With Detroit, Cedeno rebounded to bat .293 with six homers, 48 RBI and 55 steals, one behind major league leader Ichiro Suzuki of Seattle.

Cedeno joins an outfield mix that includes Justice, acquired Friday from the Yankees, and returnees Jay Payton, Benny Agbayani, Tsuyoshi Shinjo and Timo Perez. The Mets may end up trading Agbayani to the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants.

Matt Lawton, acquired from Minnesota last July, was traded to Cleveland earlier this week in the deal that brought Alomar to the Mets.

Cedeno gets a $1.5 million signing bonus, $2 million next year, $4.5 million in 2003, and $5 million in 2004 and 2005.

The players' association planned to file a grievance against Detroit for benching Cedeno for the season's final 19 games. He missed out on $200,000 in bonuses based on plate appearances because of the benching, which followed a Sept. 15 argument with Tigers manager Phil Garner.

"Things happen," said Cedeno, who wouldn't go into details about his run-in with Garner. "I don't really want to think about it anymore. Bad things happen for good reasons."

New York also announced the two players to be named it is sending to Cleveland in the Alomar trade: left-hander Billy Traber, the Mets' top pick in the 2000 amateur draft, and first baseman Earl Snyder.

The Mets may also be on the verge of improving their bullpen as well. The Newark Star-Ledger reported on Thursday that the Mets are close to a free-agent deal with versatile reliever David Weathers, who pitched for the Brewers and Cubs last season. Ten teams are reportedly in the hunt for Weathers' services.

The Mets sent left-hander Kyle Kessel to Detroit to complete an earlier deal for C.J. Nitkowski.