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After a 2-9 west coast road trip, the Mets (50-49) are reeling. With four days until the July 31st trade deadline, most fans are wondering when the team will make a move to either sure up their rotation or add a bat to their streaky lineup. 

As tweeted by Buster Olney, the Mets are reported to be in a “wait and see” mode at this point.  My suggestion to the Mets’ front office is to wait.

As a Mets fan, it is hard for me to say they should not make a trade before the deadline, but hear me out on this.  This 2010 Mets squad has been extremely streaky; especially the bats, and now with Mike Pelfrey struggling, there are many more holes in this team than there seemed to be three weeks ago. 

It would take trading away many of the Mets top prospects such as Jenrry Mejia, Wilmer Flores, and Fernando Martinez to bring back impact players that might help the club out this year.  But is it worth mortgaging the future to try to win now?  The answer is no and there are two reasons why.

The first reason why it is not smart to trade prospects away for the chance of winning in 2010 is that keeping young home-grown players is a successful strategy.  It’s hard for Mets fans to give credit to rivals, but looking at the 90’s Yankees, and the Phillies and Rays of the last couple years, you see great examples of what happens when an organization develops and builds around young talent. 

The second reason why they shouldn’t make a trade by the deadline is because it would be awesome to pencil in an infield that includes David Wright, Jose Reyes, Ike Davis, Josh Thole, and Ruben Tejada for the next five plus years.  Say what you want about these five young guys, but an infield like this brings a mix of solid defense, speed, power, and contact at the plate. 

The major argument against this strategy is that sometimes these prospects don’t ever pan out to be what we expect.  Over the last 20 years, this has happened to the Mets countless times, from Generation K to Lastings Milledge, and there is no way to tell if the same will happen with this group. 

My suggestion to the Mets organization and the fans is to be patient because winning this year is not as important as winning consistently in the near future.

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As the Mets start a three-game series against the D-Backs, one thing is sure: Luis Castillo has returned. He has been activated from the disabled list, and Ruben Tejada has been demoted to make room. I, for one, am not happy about this. I consider Tejada to be a plus over Castillo. Neither can hit, but at least Tejada can field. Castillo is expected in tonight’s lineup.

Flushing Baseball Daily reporter, Tyler Moore. Follow Tyler on Twitter, where he’ll discuss Mets, and also his posts. If you wish to email him, send an email to Tyler with the subject of Flushing Baseball Daily Mail. Thanks for reading!

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Twitter is such an interesting place to spark ideas and have conversation. I was talking to Rob_Sports over there tonight when they mentioned an interesting scenario for when Luis Castillo returns.

@TylerFlushingBB I’d like to see Tejada get a chance to start full time with Castillo there to take over if he struggles.

https://twitter.com/rob_sports/status/18569163935

Could Ruben Tejada fill the starter role when Castillo returns? I personally would love for him to take over the starter role everyday. I have not been a fan of Castillo but still, Tejada has done pretty well. He can also spell Jose Reyes once in a while.

What do you all think? What is your opinion on the second base question? Post comments, let me know what you think!

Flushing Baseball Daily reporter, Tyler Moore. Follow Tyler on Twitter, where he’ll discuss Mets, and also his posts. If you wish to email him, send an email to Tyler with the subject of Flushing Baseball Daily Mail. Thanks for reading!

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Olerud, Alfonzo, Ordonez, Ventura.

The 1999 Met infield, known as “The Greatest Infield Ever.” 11 years later, they still hold that title, but in the next few years, I prepare for a change of pace.

Davis, Tejada, Reyes, Wright.

Ike Davis is one of the best rookies in the league right now, and can only get better.

He’s had only four errors in 66 games, and he’s started in 64 of them. After Daniel Murphy got Wally Pipped, Davis should be a staple in this organization for years to come.

Ruben Tejada has shown a lot at the plate, but to me even more in the field.

With just 2 errors in 22 games, he’s been stellar in the field, making play after play. He’s a young stud out of Panama, and with Castillo rising in age, he should develop into an everyday second baseman, and depending on what the Mets do with Pagan, a decent two hitter.

Jose Reyes has made monumental improvements at shortstop in the last few years.

He’s got one of the best arms in the game at his position, and has improved his range so much. As a young player he showed shades of being a headcase, but in recent years he’s seemed to settle down a little, knowing the situation, and doing the little things to try to win. At shortstop he’s been thinking proactively as opposed to reactively, always thinking of the next play. He’s got potential to become one of the best shortstops in the game.

David Wright has always been a stud at the hot corner, making great plays left and right his whole career.

His arm is unreliable at times, but it has made improvements. Every year he’s an All-Star not only for what he does at the plate but for what he does in the field. He’s an elite third baseman, who should be a great for years to come.

Basically, once Tejada and Davis get older and have the mental approach to the game that Wright and Reyes have, this infield could potentially be the best ever.

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Earlier this week, I wrote an article talking about the Mets outfield dilemma now that Carlos Beltran is playing rehab games for the St. Lucie Mets.  I concluded that the best-case scenario would be for the four outfielders to platoon.  I also joked that maybe Angel Pagan should take ground balls at second base, giving Jerry Manuel the ability to play all four outfielders at once.

Though the idea for Pagan to play second is far-fetched, it’s also pretty unwise.

Ruben Tejada is the current second baseman.  Personally, I am a big fan, largely because of his spectacular defense.  Tejada is a natural shortstop, who has stepped in at second and played like he has been a second basemen all of his life.  Mets announcer Gary Cohen can’t help but marvel every game at Tejada’s ability to turn double plays, and make hard plays look easy. 

Undoubtedly, a good offensive player will win a spot over a good defensive player most of the time.  For that, I had expected that hypothetically, if Manuel had to choose between Tejada and Pagan, he would choose Pagan.  Tejada, however, is proving to be a better offensive player than we had thought.

The twenty-year-old Tejada is currently hitting .264 with a .328 OBP.  While these numbers are only mediocre, that is not what impresses me.

What I am impressed by is his consistency; he currently has a nine-game hitting streak, and has gotten a hit in 13 of the 16 games he has started this year!  His 11 runs scored also means that he has scored more than half of the times that he has reached base.

Tejada is the future, and his playing time and at-bats are a valuable experience for him to improve an offensive game that, mixed with superb defense, will make him a good player for years to come.

So if Tejada is not taken out of the lineup for Pagan, that still leaves the Mets with four outfielders.  While platooning outfielders is still the most likely option, I have a suggestion.

Why don’t the Mets consider trading Carlos Beltran?

Despite his relative inability to stay healthy recently, he undoubtedly has the highest trade value of all of the outfielders.  If the Mets want to snag a pitcher before the July 31 trade deadline, maybe they should consider shopping Beltran for a Cliff Lee or Roy Oswalt.

Beltran is 33, and becomes a free agent after the 2011 season.  He is due $18.5 million this year and next.  His hefty price tag and questionable health may be question marks for teams who are looking to unload payroll by trading their superstars, but at the same time, Beltran is still a very talented player, whom every team wouldn’t mind having at the top of their lineup.

For the Mets, unloading Beltran would give them a little bit of financial flexibility to resign a newly acquired pitcher.  Also, trading Beltran would allow the Mets to keep their current core of youth intact.  They would be able to acquire a pitcher while keeping their prospects, as well as the players who have led the Mets to a 42-31 record.

I hate to see a starter lose his job to injury, but at the same time, I hate the prospect of breaking up the current team, which has been a tremendously pleasant surprise in 2010.  You know what they say, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it.

Now, I have to admit that I don’t think a Beltran trade is very likely, or even on the mind of the Mets brass.  Beltran has a full no-trade clause, teams would be skeptical about picking him up after his knee surgery, and trades of this caliber rarely take place.

But the idea makes sense, and swapping Beltran for a pitcher of equal pedigree could catapult the Mets into the playoffs.

What do you guys think?

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