Report updates Mets' thoughts on trade-deadline strategy

Mets fans aren't the only ones unsure how New York will handle the July 30 MLB trade deadline.

"The New York Mets haven’t yet made any directional decisions regarding the trade deadline, according to people familiar with the club’s thinking, and how they continue to play will inform their approach," Will Sammon, Katie Woo and Patrick Mooney of The Athletic reported on Friday.

It seemed when the Mets fell to 28-37 on June 11 that the club would make out-of-contract players such as All-Star first baseman Pete Alonso, starting pitcher Luis Severino and designated hitter J.D. Martinez available to other teams sooner rather than later. However, the Amazins improved to 39-39 on the season after Wednesday's 12-2 blowout win over the New York Yankees. As of Friday afternoon, the Mets are just one game back of the National League's third wild-card spot.

Earlier this week, some MLB executives wondered if New York could at least accept calls about Severino because the club allegedly is "focused more on building for the long term than trying to win now." The Athletic mentioned that "some hybrid style of buying and selling shouldn’t be ruled out" regarding what Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns hopes to accomplish next month.

Starting with Friday's home game against the 40-40 Houston Astros, the Mets aren't scheduled to face an opponent over .500 until the All-Star break gets underway on the evening of July 14. Such a stretch theoretically should show if the team is a playoff contender or a pretender.

"There are a lot of moving parts to [those decisions]," Mets pitcher Adrian Houser recently said about the trade deadline, per Dan Martin of the New York Post. "If we’re right there in the hunt, I expect [Stearns] to add to help the team win. But you never know because there are long-term and short-term goals."

Specifically, The Athletic noted that "bullpen help" is "an obvious need" for the Mets. Whether or not the current squad can win enough to convince Stearns and owner Steve Cohen to add rather than subtract in July shall be seen.