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 New York Mets have acquired center fielder Cedric Mullins from the Baltimore Orioles for three minor league pitchers before the Major League Baseball trade deadline.

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.

The Mets are acquiring hard-throwing closer Ryan Helsley from the St. Louis Cardinals on Wednesday, a day before the July 31 Major League Baseball deadline, the team announced Wednesday. The Cardinals get back three minor leaguers: shortstop Jesus Baez and right-handed pitchers Nate Dohm and Frank Elissalt.

While the Phillies addressed their closer questions with the acquisition of Jhoan Duran from the Twins, the Mets pulled off a pair of big deals to acquire Ryan Helsley from the Cardinals and Tyler Rogers from the Giants.