According to Mike Puma of the NY Post , The New York Mets think they can use upper tier prospects in a deal to get a big bat in the Mets lineup. Puma notes that center fielder Brandon Nimmo, infielder Gavin Cecchini, and right hand pitcher Michael Fulmer could be used as possible trade chips.

Nimmo, 22-years old, was the Mets’ No. 13 overall pick in the 2011 draft.  The center fielder has spent the bulk of the year in Double-A Binghamton and has hit .284/.346/.373 in 260 plate appearances.

Fulmer, 22-years old, was the (1st round) 44th overall pick in the 2011 MLB Draft. He is currently is 4-2 with a 2.16 ERA with 65 K's in 75 innings for Binghamton.

Cecchini, 21-years old, was the (1st round) 12th overall pick in the 2012 MLB Draft. He is currently batting .298 with two home runs and 37 RBI with the Binghamton Mets.

Coming into the year, Nimmo was ranked as the No. 45th  best prospect in the country by Baseball America, while Fulmer was rated No. 98 in 2013.  

Even though left-handed starter Jon Niese pitched wonderfully on Sunday, going 7.1 innings of shutout ball, the Mets still value his innings than his trade value because they do not want to max out Matt Harvey and other starters in the rotation.

His value has not adjusted because of his success of late:

“It changes nothing for me,” an NL exec told Andy Martino of the New York Daily News. “Stuff has gotten lighter every year. The Mets are going to tell everyone it’s as good as ever to keep trade value high.” 

Early Sunday morning, Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe had a different take and wrote that there’s currently a feeling in the organization that the Mets will make a move for a hitter in the coming days with Niese being the outgoing asset. But that does not seem to be the case as the Mets will go in the prospect route instead.

The Mets have been rumored to be lined up with the Milwaukee Brewers and the San Diego Padres in trade rumors, who each have a outfielder that they would like to trade respectively in Carlos Gomez and Justin Upton. The Mets could also have interest in outfielders the Brewers Gerardo Parra and the Padres Will Venable who can help a beleaguered outfield. Parra is 13th in batting in the NL with a .313 Average. Backup plans seem to be Brewers shortstop Jean Segura and third basemen Aramis Ramirez, who could be useful if the Mets feel David Wright will not comeback in 2015.

The Mets will be looking at someone who can drive in runs as the Mets have been dreadful in that category. On Sunday, they were 1-for-26 with runners in scoring position, 17 of them left with 2-out in scoring position. It took them 18 innings to put two runs across and seal a 3-1 victory in St. Louis. The Mets remain two games out of first place as the Nationals were blanked by the Dodgers 5-0.

Both Gomez and Upton have had their problems hitting for average. Gomez is only batting .267 with eight home runs and 41 RBI, and Upton is batting .252 with 15 home runs and 49 RBI. The Mets will have company with the Baltimore Orioles, who is also looking to acquire an outfielder of their caliber.

The Mets could get themselves involved in a Rockies deal as Carlos Gonzalez seems to be on the market. Many fans want Troy Tulowitzki in their infield, but that might be a pipe dream.

It all remains to be seen what the Mets can do to get some offense in this lineup, maybe it's all propaganda. But the sooner something gets done the better has to be on most Mets fans minds.