CAROLINA, Puerto Rico — In Pedro Martinez's ideal world, he will be wearing a Mets uniform this season pitching at "the new Shea."

"If they want a fifth starter, I've been there," Martinez said Monday. "I don't know how much they want me, but I'm available. That's all I can say.

"But at the same time I'm available for every team out there."

Speaking after the Dominican Republic's off-day workout at Roberto Clemente Stadium, Martinez, 37, said he feels healthy, is throwing harder than he has in a while, is comfortable competing in New York and wants to be a Met.

But the Mets need to make the call.

"I have a lot of respect for Omar and the Mets, but I'm not going to go chasing the Mets," Martinez said. "I'm not in that bad of shape."

For the moment the Mets aren't interested in Martinez. Minaya met with Martinez in Dominican Republic in late January, and the team came away thinking his price was between $5 million and $8 million — too expensive, they felt, for a fifth starter. So they put together a cast of low-cost options hoping someone would win the job.

Even in the wake of several unimpressive outings by fifth starter candidates Freddy Garcia, Livan Hernandez and Tim Redding, team officials don't seem willing to return to Martinez.

At least not yet.

Martinez threw three scoreless innings in the Dominican Republic's 3-2 loss to Netherlands Saturday. He struck out four, all of them swinging, and threw 31 strikes in 39 pitches. Even if many of the hitters weren't all major-league caliber, Martinez definitely looked impressive.

"I'm just healthy, and when I'm healthy I'm very optimistic about everything, about what I can do," Martinez said. "Even my attitude changes. I feel so healthy, so happy. I'm a happy camper. When I'm not healthy, it's hard to smile. It's hard to get it off your mind."

Jose Reyes, Martinez's Dominican Republic teammate, added, "He looked great, man — harder speed, everything was perfect. He threw strikes like he normally does. It was great to see Pedro perform like that. He's happy, too ... He's the guy who brings a lot of attitude, a lot of energy."

Felipe Alou, who managed Martinez on the Expos over a decade ago, Monday paid the lean righthander the highest compliment, saying he plans to save Martinez to pitch in the biggest spots in the tournament. "Somebody," Alou said, "is going to wind up with one heck of a pitcher."

Martinez even said he would be open to be a reliever "if the situation called for it," though that's not his preference. He still wants to start, specifically in Flushing.

Part of the reason Martinez wants to be a Met is Citi Field. He was 18-10 with a 2.77 ERA and 255 strikeouts in 279 career innings at Shea Stadium, and he'd like to have the same success in the new park.

"Shea was a great stadium for me," Martinez said.

When David Ortiz was asked about his former Red Sox teammate's chances of getting a major-league coming out of the World Baseball Classic, Ortiz asked the reporter, "What do you think? Would you give him a job?" Told yes, Ortiz smiled. "Me too."

Now whether it will be the job Martinez wants, that's another question.

"Yeah, I would like to be back, but I'm not just going to follow the Mets," Martinez said. "They have their own plans and their own thought process. I have my goals. I have my things I want to achieve in life. If it's not with the Mets, it will be with someone else."