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Despite not making a trade for Milwaukee center fielder Carlos Gomez last night, the New York Mets are in hot pursuit of a bat, according to Marc Craig of Newsday:
FWIW, checked this AM, it doesn't sound like Mets are done trying to get a bat.
— Marc Carig (@MarcCarig) July 30, 2015
The Mets are primarily looking for an outfielder, and one that can play center field especially, CBS Sports' Jon Heyman reports:
1 thing that came out of non gomez deal, mets prioritizing CF over RF/LF. limited field. parra also. 2 brewers, few others
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeymanCBS) July 30, 2015
As Heyman notes, there are not many center fielders on the market, the primary one available being the Brewers' Gerardo Parra, and given the breakdown of the Gomez deal, those teams seem unlikely to deal with one another before the trade deadline.
The Mets have also shown interest in Detroit's Rajai Davis and, after trading Troy Tulowitzki Monday night, the Rockies could make Charlie Blackmon available should that be a route the Mets choose to explore.
The desire for someone who can play center field comes from the fact that Juan Lagares, despite being great defensively, is somewhat of a liability there, hitting just .255/.280/.335 with 18 extra-base hits in 349 at bats this season.
New York could also dip into the market for corner outfielders, of which there are more available. If the Mets do add a corner outfielder, they could pick from several options, among them San Diego's Justin Upton, Detroit's Yoenis Cespedes and Colorado's Carlos Gonzalez.
With Michael Cuddyer on the disabled list, the Mets have turned to rookie Michael Conforto, who began the season at High-A St. Lucie, in left field, so any of the above names would be an upgrade who would allow more development time for New York's 2014 first round pick.