Chin-lung Hu, the slick-fielding backup middle infielder the Mets obtained during the winter for minor league left-hander Mike Antonini, is "the same guy I remembered from four years ago," according to Terry Collins.

"Great hands," the manager said. "Defensively, he's got as good a hands as anybody on that field. I will tell you, the three years I saw him play in the minor leagues, I never saw him make a bad throw. And I've watched him this camp and he doesn't make any bad throws. He catches the ball and throws you out.

"I'm hoping that we give him enough at-bats this spring, which I'm going to make sure it happens, to find out what kind of an offensive player he's become. He's so much bigger and stronger than I remembered."

Hu, 27, has a career .191 average with two homers in 173 career major league at-bats since 2007.