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The Mets have expanded their search for outfielders to include players they were reportedly uninterested previously, mostly those who were rentals and could leave via free agency at the end of the season.

One of those players could be Tigers OF Yoenis Cespedes, and Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says the Mets and Tigers have discussed the possibility of a trade involving the pending free agent, and Jon Heyman of CBS Sports says the Mets are making a push to acquire the outfielder ahead of the trade deadline, and are centering their efforts on Cespedes, he said on MLB Network.

“Cespedes seems to be the focus of the Mets right now,” Heyman said.

Rosenthal says Cespedes is among many options the Mets are considering in addition to Jay Bruce, as the Mets  are looking at 5-10 outfielders, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Those outfielders could include Bruce, Cespedes, Justin Upton, Rajai Davis, and Will Venable, reports Rosenthal.

However, the Nationals are also interested in acquiring Cespedes, John Heyman of CBS Sports reported on MLB Network. In addition, the Angels have also shown interest, Jon Morosi of FOX Sports reported.

In exchange for Cespedes, the Tigers are looking for an elite prospect in return, Marc Carig of Newsday said on Twitter.

At any rate, the Tigers are, “real close” to trading Cespedes, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reports. And that team, according to Nightengale could be the Mets, a rival executive told him.

Tony Paul of the Detroit News says it’s possible Cespedes could be involved in a three-way trade.

Cespedes is a perfect fit talent-wise for the Mets, and a much better fit than Jay Bruce. He’s a right-handed bat who would help provide quality lineup balance in the middle of the order. He has great power from the right side, has decent speed and is a fabulous outfielder. He has been more productive away from Comerica Park this season, but aside from the home runs he’s been generally fine at home and his splits have been even historically in the Oakland Coliseum. So, if the Mets were to acquire him, they probably wouldn’t have to worry about a drop off at Citi Field.

He has always been more productive against right-handed pitching in his career, but has badly struggled against left-handed pitching this season which isn’t indicative of his history. It could be a fluke, but it’s worth noting in the evaluation process.

The problem is, Cespedes will be a free agent at the end of the season. Like Justin Upton, Cespedes has absolutely no reason to consider an extension this summer and limit his negotiating power to one team. So, there’s significant risk in acquiring Cespedes.

In addition, the Tigers will probably want this “reboot” process to be quick, meaning they may want players who are ready to contribute now, or will be ready to contribute next season. And with Sandy Alderson being clear about his unwillingness to move the four young starting pitchers in the rotation now along with Michael Conforto, the Mets don’t have much that would fit that criteria at the moment.

On the other hand, the industry is well aware of the fact the Tigers cannot make Cespedes a qualifying offer this winter, which will probably serve as extra motivation to get a deal done. Conceivably, that could mean it will be a sellers market for Cespedes, which could lower the ask. But that might mean there will be more suitors for Cespedes, which could negate that factor.

But, if this comes down to the Mets and Nationals for Cespedes, it will be interesting to see if the Mets allow that to happen. If he goes to the Nationals, the Mets have an even steeper uphill climb to overtake Washington this summer.

This scenario could work in Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski’s favor, as he can create a bidding war for a player who could mean the difference in the National League East in 2015.

Then again, this could be an attempt by Dombrowski to get more teams in the mix, or to get one of the Mets or Nationals to up the ante.

original post, 1:10 PM, updated 2:21 PM, 2:57 PM, 3:27 PM, 3:45 PM