The Mets want Billy Wagner to come to New York,and the bullpen ace sounds as if he likes their sales pitch. After two days of meetings with the pitcher and his wife, Sarah, the Mets were set to offer Wagner a contract yesterday as they try to improve one of their biggest weaknesses from last season.

“They’re not just trying to put a competitive team on the field, they’re going to put a winning team on this field,” Wagner said.

General manager Omar Minaya believes Wagner is the pitcher to help them do it.

“It’s a judgment thing,” Minaya said at Shea Stadium.”To be a closer I think itself is something that’s difficult. But I do believe he has it to be able to do it in this town. The ability to bounce back, that’s what makes closers special.”

Wagner appeared in 75 games for Philadelphia last year, going 4-3 with 38 saves and a 1.51 ERA last season. In an 11-year career, Wagner, a four-time All-Star, has a 34-32 record with an ERA of 2.40 and 284 saves, an average of just under 26 a year. After spending most of his career with Houston, the left-hander showed in his two seasons with the Phillies that he could handle pitching in a tough city. The Phillies have said they want to re-sign him.

“I think if I had an opportunity to play in New York four or five years ago, I probably wouldn’t have been as receptive to it,”Wagner said.”After the trade of going to Philadelphia and playing there,I believe that’s made it that much easier to handle the media, the pressures.”

Wagner had lunch and dinner with a number of Mets officials Monday, including Fred and Jeff Wilpon and manager Willie Randolph. Minaya, who wouldn’t detail what type offer the team would make to Wagner, knows it will be difficult getting him to leave Philadelphia.

“It’s tough for a player to leave a team that he’s already accustomed to, so we have to work even harder,” Minaya said. “You have to give a reason why.”

Wagner mentioned some of the reasons, including his family being comfortable and him being able to reach 400 saves – his 284 place him 21st on the all-time list and seventh among active pitchers behind San Diego’s Trevor Hoffman (436), Houston’s John Franco (424), the Yankees’ Mariano Rivera (379), the Mets’ Roberto Hernandez (324), Detroit’s Troy Percival (324), and Pittsburgh’s Jose Mesa (319). Lee Smith is the all-time leader with 478.

He also wants to play on a winning team, and the Mets are showing him they expect to be one.The Mets are reportedly ready to guarantee Wagner at least three years at $10 million to $11 million per season, and potentially to offer a fourth year like they did to lure Pedro Martinez last winter.

“And that’s exciting when you know the resources and the things that they’re capable of doing,”Wagner said.