Big-buck splash unlikely for Mets — and that’s OK

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Mets didn’t f ight fire with finances. Instead, the defending National League champions responded to their Hot Stove disappointment with alacrity and diversification, leaving them room to do even more down the road.

As the Cubs introduced Ben Zobrist in a news conference Wednesday, Zobrist having accepted the four-year, $56 million offer of his top choice, the Mets occupied themselves acquiring a pair of infielders. Second baseman Neil Walker arrived from Pittsburgh in a trade for Jon Niese, and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera agreed to a two-year, $18.5 million deal, pending a physical, with a team option for 2018.

The Mets expressed a willingness to go as high as $60 million for Zobrist, their top choice. Instead, for two players, the Mets took on about one-third of that, when you factor in Walker’s estimated 2016 salary of $11 million and the $9 million the Pirates will pay Niese.

But don’t expect to see Yoenis Cespedes, or anyone in his shopping aisle, walking through that door just because of that math. The team’s estimated 2016 payroll now stands at about $107 million, using the Baseball-Reference.com calculations. The Mets ended 2015 with a payroll of $109.6 million, as per the Associated Press, and general manager Sandy Alderson is on record that the team’s Opening Day payroll next season won’t rise dramatically.

“This doesn’t change our strategy,” Mets vice president and assistant general manager John Ricco said after the team announced the Niese-for-Walker trade.

The moves confirm that Daniel Murphy won’t return, and it’s reasonable for the Mets to expect similar production from the keystone as they have received the prior five seasons. Walker has a better glove than Murphy. He switch hits, though his splits are so dramatic that he has contemplated batting solely from the left side. The Pittsburgh native carries a reputation as a good guy who shouldn’t be too bothered by New York’s bright lights.

Cabrera, who will be the team’s primary starting shortstop, offers a more reliable presence than the well-known human roller coasters Wilmer Flores and Ruben Tejada and also can spot David Wright at third base. As The Post’s Joel Sherman pointed out, the Mets learned the value of roster depth last season upon picking up Kelly Johnson and Juan Uribe, and now they can boast of considerable depth, if unimpressive athleticism, in the infield.

The Mets now will work on other areas at modest costs. Bartolo Colon now appears a natural to return and assume Niese’s fifth starter’s position, with the possibility that he will switch to the bullpen if Zack Wheeler makes it back from Tommy John surgery and the other four young guns stay healthy.

In the outfield, odds are you can forget about the likes of Denard Span and Gerardo Parra. Both want multi-year contracts and everyday jobs, and Ricco said Wednesday the Mets want someone to “complement” center fi e l der Juan Lagares, rather than outright replace him. Lagares, who turns 27 in March and has another $22.5 million coming to him through 2019, possesses too much upside. The Mets can look at someone like Alejandro De Aza, who played for the Orioles, Red Sox and Giants in 2015, and hits righty pitching (.274/.338/.418) and patrols center field capably, as a stopgap solution as they see whether Lagares can rebound.

Then the Mets need a pair of relievers, one righty (Tyler Clippard?), one lefty (Jerry Blevins?), and that might about do it until spring training.

Such a compilation surely and underst a ndably would upset some fans who want to see bigger investments in light of the team’s increased revenue. Hence the onus will once again fall upon the front office for their bets to be right, and — if enough of these moves don’t pay off — to capitalize on payroll flexibility the same way it did last July.

Maybe this plan will work, maybe not. After Wednesday’s moves, though, you have more reason to believe the former.

kdavidof f@nypost.com