The New York Mets do not anticipate a quick resolution to the pursuit of Derek Lowe, despite their three-year offer of roughly $36 million, and have a free-agent contingency plan in place that includes, in order, Oliver Perez, Randy Wolf and Jon Garland.

A person familiar with the situation confirmed on Wednesday that the Mets have made the offer to Lowe, who remains the top choice on the wish list for their rotation.

Even though the market for second-tier free agents seems to have dipped slightly this offseason, the Mets can't expect to get Lowe at a bargain rate, as they did in securing closer Francisco Rodriguez with a three-year, $37-million deal.

Lowe, who is represented by Scott Boras, reportedly was seeking "Barry-Zito type money" during the winter meetings, such as a five-year contract in the $90-million range. The Mets prefer shorter deals for starting pitchers, especially one who is 35, but there will be more competition in the coming days for Lowe than there was for K-Rod.

When asked about the next group of starters in line after CC Sabathia, who signed a seven-year contract for a record $161 million with the Yankees, general manager Omar Minaya sounded as if he was not particularly close to a deal for any of them yet.

"I think it will be drawn out," Minaya said Wednesday. "Maybe something will get done by the middle of January."

The Mets have made offers to other pitchers, too. But in the case of Perez, who also is represented by Boras, his fate seems directly tied to Lowe. The Mets remain the frontrunner for Lowe, based on their resources and his desire to pitch on the East Coast. But the Phillies also have shown interest, and the Red Sox — his former team — have moves to make after the Yankees' signings of Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Mark Teixeira.

It will take more than the Mets' initial offer to land Lowe. If they fall short, it's on to Perez, who beat them in arbitration last season for $8.5 million. Perez, 27, can expect a significant raise, though it probably won't be the five-year, $75-million figure that was talked about at the start of the offseason.

From there, it's down to Wolf and Garland, two serviceable starters who are fallback options at the moment. Wolf, 32, went 12-12 with a 4.30 ERA in 33 starts split between the Padres and Astros last season. He earned $4.75 million on a one-year deal.

Garland, 29, was 14-8 with a 4.90 ERA in 32 starts for the Angels. He made $12 million in the walk year of his three-year, $29-million contract.

The Mets haven't closed the door on Pedro Martinez yet, either, according to a person familiar with the situation. As they move closer to spring training, Martinez could be more receptive to coming back on a one-year deal with incentives, and it would be difficult for Minaya to resist adding him to the rotation under the right terms.

Martinez was happy with the Mets, and despite the wear-and-tear on his legs and shoulder, another offseason of rest should help now that he's more than two years removed from rotator-cuff surgery.

One free agent who does not appear to be in the Mets' plans is Manny Ramirez, who reportedly reopened talks with the Dodgers this week. With Ramirez already turning down a two-year, $45-million offer from Los Angeles in December, the Mets have no desire to pay him $22 million to $25 million per season on a multiyear deal.

Boras, who also is the agent for Ramirez, could get Washington involved in the bidding. The Nationals missed out on Teixeira despite their willingness to approach $200 million for the Baltimore schoolboy star.