Perched in first place with a mostly healthy roster and one of their most dynamic offensive cores in decades, the Mets entered late July sensing another fine runway for a deep postseason run. They then became one of the Trade Deadline’s more active teams,

If the Mets were going to acquire a starter, it was likely going to have to be someone they viewed as part of their playoff rotation.

Mets are currently a half-game above the Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East. Both teams have been busy ahead of the deadline and waged a bit of an arms race—the Phil