The Mets don't have to be just sellers or just buyers at the trade deadline. They can be both...
It doesn't happen often, especially in New York, but smart organizations -- like Billy Beane's Athletics -- often acquire and trade away young, controllable talent simultaneously regardless of whether they are or aren't contending for the playoffs.
During the next week, Mets GM Brodie Van Wagenen should do his best to take a page out of Beane's book, especially since fewer and fewer elite players are making it to free agency these days.