The Mets are hot.  Winners of their last eight, they find themselves in second place, only a half-game behind the Phillies.  Conceivably they could be in first place at the All-Star break.  It’s quite the turnaround from exactly one month ago when they were 32-34, in fourth place, seven-and-a-half games out of the division.

If you asked me a month ago, I felt the Mets should really look at packing the season in, and start trading some players away to rebuild the farm system.  I no longer hold that opinion.  The Mets are doing everything right.  Instead of selling, they need to look at buying.

If you look at the Mets right now there’s one glaring area where they can use an upgrade and that’s the outfield.  With Moises Alou’s career potentially over, and the instability of Ryan Church given the effects of two concussions in three months, a corner outfielder needs to be brought in.  Not to disrespect the likes of Fernando Tatis or Marlon Anderson, who have done an admirable job filling in, they are better suited to come off the bench. 

The player they need to look at is Mariners outfielder, Raul Ibanez.

Ibanez, a native New Yorker, is currently hitting .273 with 11 home runs and 55 RBIs for a disappointing Mariners team.  While his average is a bit lower than it’s been over the past few seasons, he is on pace to hit over 20 home runs and drive in 100.   Offensively, he’d be an excellent fit behind Carlos Beltran in the batting order. 

Ibanez is a strong defender and possesses and above average arm.  He also is a free agent at the end of the season, meaning it will free up more money for the Mets to make a run at a player like Mark Teixeira in the off-season. 

While he’s not as sexy name as, say, Matt Holliday (who has less than impressive career stats away from Coor Field), he is a complete player and could come at a price the Mets could afford. 

Although their farm system took a hit with the acquisition of Johan Santana, there are still players who would be enticing to other teams, without having to give up top prospect Fernando Martinez.  A package centered around Mike Carp or Nick Evans should be enough to land Ibanez.

A guy like Ibanez gets easily overlooked playing on the West Coast, but he’s quietly put together two consecutive seasons with over 20 home runs and 100 RBIs.  He’d be a hit in Flushing for the remainder of the season.