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,

The Mullins acquisition solves what has been a thorny centerfield issue for the Mets. Tyrone Taylor is defensively superior but is batting just .201 and has seen his playing time reduced in favor of Jeff McNeil, who, while acquitting himself well enough at the position, is a natural infielder.