NEW YORK -- If tests show Mike Cameron has no lingering vision problems resulting from that sickening outfield collision he had with Carlos Beltran in August, the Mets will trade him to Padres by the week's end and, it appears, then pursue a trade for Marlins left-handed slugger Carlos Delgado.

Those developments came to light Wednesday after word of a Mets deal with the Padres -- Cameron for versatile right-handed hitter Xavier Nady -- spread throughout the game. One person familiar with the Mets' plans confirmed the trade and characterized it as conditional, noting the need for Cameron to have his vision tested. The person also made a point of saying Nady would play right field.

Another person familiar with the club's strategy said the Mets intend to use Nady primarily in right -- thought by the Padres to be his best position -- and then pursue a deal with the Marlins for Delgado to add the offensive firepower they lacked last season, at first base.

The presence of Nady appears to be something of a safeguard for the Mets because he can also play first base. If they are unable to acquire Delgado, the Mets can use Nady at first base, platoon him with left-handed-hitting Mike Jacobs and then try to make right field the position that will provide the added offense.

But dealing Cameron to the Padres would likely eliminate one of the players -- perhaps the primary one -- the Mets could move to the Red Sox in a deal for Manny Ramirez, the player the Mets could import to play right and provide an offensive upgrade.

That the Mets would deal Cameron appears to indicate that Delgado, and not Ramirez, is their primary objective in a trade. And that apparent indication is consistent with the thinking of a number of clubs who recently have turned their backs of the chance of taking Ramirez's bat, baggage and burdensome contract off the Red Sox's hands.

Delgado may have some baggage as well. He rejected the Mets when they pursued him as a free agent last year at this time, saying he was uncomfortable with how they tried to use his Hispanic heritage to induce him to sign with them. The same tact had proved successful when the Mets pursued Beltran and Pedro Martinez.

But before any of these issues can be addressed or dominoes can fall, Cameron must pass a vision test. If he does, he will be playing center field in PETCO Park in San Diego next season, the site of the collision that caused him to miss the final six weeks of the Mets season.

Cameron acknowledged in September that his vision occasionally was blurry, as a result of the Aug. 11 collision with Beltran in right-center field. He suffered broken cheeks and a broken nose in the collision. The multiple fractures have healed completely. In fact, the Mets were told by doctors that Cameron was clear to box, if he chose, as a means of measuring the healing process.

However, as recently as Tuesday, Cameron still was suffering from headaches that resulted from the collision. He had resumed running without complications other than the headaches.

If he moves to the Padres, he will be returned to his favorite position, center field, the position he played in 2004, his first season with the Mets. The Mets' signing of Beltran forced Cameron to right, where he played so well in merely 67 starts that longtime Mets observers considered him the best defensive right fielder in franchise history and considered the Mets 2005 outfield alignment -- Cliff Floyd in left, Beltran and Cameron -- as the best the Mets have had since the days of, left to right, Kevin McReynolds, the center-field platoon of Mookie Wilson and Lenny Dykstra and Darryl Strawberry.

Nady, who turned 27 on Monday, won't be that kind of right fielder. He started only seven games in right last season, compared with 34 at first base, 28 in center field, six in left and two at third base. But his offensive potential, particularly against left-handed pitching, is what makes him appealing.

He began last season, his third in the big leagues, with meaningful at-bats and a .324 career average against left-handed pitching, albeit in only 139 at-bats. He had 124 more swings against left-handed pitching in 2005 and batted .323. His career average against right-handed pitching, though is nothing comparable -- .232 in 513 at-bats.

He batted .261 overall with 43 RBIs and 13 home runs in 326 at-bats last season.

The trade seems lopsided in the Padres' favor except that they assume a $6 million obligation, Cameron's salary, for 2006. No exchange of money is included in the deal. Nady, who earned $488,000 last season, will not be eligible for salary arbitration. He has only two years, 59 days of Major League service, and the threshold for Super 2 status is expected to be about two years, 135 days.

The money the Mets save in the transaction can go toward paying Delgado -- if they succeed in obtaining him. His salary in his first season with the Marlins was $4 million. The remaining obligation on the four-year contract he signed last season is $48 million, an average of $16 million over three seasons.

Ramirez's contract is worth an annual average of $19 million for the next three years.