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,

In Gregory Soto (obtained from the Orioles), Tyler Rogers (from the Giants) and Ryan Helsley (from the Cardinals), president of baseball operations David Stearns stitched together a back end of the bullpen meant to drastically shorten games, yes, but also frustrate opponents thanks to vastly differing skill sets and approaches.