With the Mets outfield barren of talent, and free-agent center fielder Michael Bourn still available, the team has pursued a creative solution for testing the league’s draft-pick compensation requirements.

The Mets select 11th in next June’s draft. If they were to sign Bourn, they would ship the pick and likely more than $2.5 million in draft spending money to Atlanta, who employed Bourn last season. General manager Sandy Alderson harbors little interest in sacrificing the pick for any free agent. The team feels the draft is the lifeblood of their rebuilding effort.

The first 10 picks in the draft are protected – if a team with a top 10 pick signs a protected free agent, they only give up their second-round pick.

Here is the potential loophole for the Mets: Pittsburgh selects ninth. This pick resulted from their inability to sign their first-round choice in 2012. The Mets are interested in seeing if the league will allow their No. 11 pick to be protected as a result.

It is unclear if MLB will allow this to occur. “As of right now,” Alderson wrote in an email late Wednesday night, “we would lose our first-round pick” if the team signed a free agent who requires draft-pick compensation.

The Daily News first reported the team’s interest in getting their pick protected.

As spring training approaches, options for the team’s outfield are dwindling. Last night Scott Hairston signed a two-year deal with the Cubs, according to Fox Sports. The Mets’ discussions with Arizona regarding Justin Upton have fizzled.

For now, the team’s outfield is compromised of Lucas Duda, Mike Baxter, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Collin Cowgill and Andrew Brown. Bourn would be an upgrade – even if he comes with a good deal of risk. Bourn turned 30 last month. He posted a so-so .722 on-base plus slugging percentage since 2010. And for now, he’ll cost a first-round pick.

“We don’t want to lose our first-round draft pick,” Alderson told The Star-Ledger on Jan. 8. “We think that’s one of the ways we got into the predicament we’ve had over the past couple of years.”

Even if MLB granted the Mets a break, they would have to negotiate with Scott Boras, Bourn's high-powered agent. It is unclear how much the team is willing to spend, especially with suitors like Seattle and Texas still potentially in the mix.