Just Mets

Prior to Friday night’s game at Citi Field, the Mets finally made a move, acquiring veterans Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson in a trade with the Braves to help bolster their offense. This came just hours after the team called up their top hitting prospect Michael Conforto from Double-A.

These moves on Friday signified that the Mets would not stand pat and let the 2015 season get away from them. While none of these players will be a “savior” from this team, they all have a chance to contribute in a positive way–something the players they’re replacing were incapable of doing.

Still, while this shows that inactivity and slipping away in the race for the postseason will not be tolerated, it’s not enough.

Not long after the trade, Newsday’s Marc Carig reported that the Mets were not done looking to improve and that more moves may be on the way. “There’s a good reason they’re out there still working on trades. They’ve got the pieces,” Carig said on Twitter on Friday night. “With Mets, it’s all about lineup depth. That doesn’t require a giant name. They just need actual MLB production.”

Marc is right. While it’d be exciting and certainly wouldn’t hurt to acquire a big bat such as Justin Upton, Carlos Gomez or whomever else you may desire, this team can still vastly improve themselves by adding smaller major league players that fit the roster.

Gerardo Parra is having a career year for the Brewers, hitting .319/.357/.512 with 23 doubles, four triples, nine home runs, 31 RBI and 48 runs scored in 94 games this season. According to Carig, the Mets were in discussions with Milwaukee about Parra up until Thursday night, however the trade never materialized.

It is still possible, however, that the Mets acquire a player such as Parra or Will Venable within the next six days before the trade deadline, as Carig reported that the team recognizes that more can be done to improve the team.

While unlikely, it also may be within the realm of possibility that the Mets may be attempting to acquire a bigger bat, as the Daily News’ Kristie Ackert and Andy Martino have reported that the team has discussed Zack Wheeler in trade talks of late. Odds are that the Mets aren’t going to move Wheeler, however, “the very possibility shows that the team is still seeking a bat, and perhaps a big one,” Martino said.

After the game on Friday, Ackert reported that the Mets had scouts at the Reds-Rockies game in Colorado. If they are indeed thinking about the possibility of trading Wheeler, perhaps they were watching the player that they seek in that game as Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez and Jay Bruce were all on the field.

Whether or not it’s a Parra/Venable type or a bigger piece such as Tulowitzki, Gonzalez or Bruce, the fact of the matter is that there are still moves that need to be made for this team to make a legitimate run at the postseason in 2015. Friday was a step forward, but they need another before they can take that leap.