Part 2: Possible Mets upgrades and trade targets

The Mets have gotten superb performances from David Wright and R.A. Dickey in the first half. But the club has numerous areas to upgrade: the bullpen, outfield and catcher. This is part 2 of a series looking at a couple of names the club could look into before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

The right-hander served as Seattle's closer last season, but lost his job in 2012 and is now just a back-end bullpen piece. With the Mariners nowhere close to being in contention, and League eligible for free agency after the season, he makes sense as a trade chip.

The excitable Australian righty is a key piece of the Oakland bullpen. Despite serving for a short time as closer this season, he's back to being a key late inning reliever.

We've already discussed Ramon Hernandez (and supposedly the Mets have, too) as a possible catching solution. And while there's a dearth of quality backstops on the market, Shoppach could be a cheap, low-risk move. With Jarrod Saltalamacchia's performance in Boston, and Ryan Lavarnway waiting in the minor leagues, the Sox might be willing to part with Shoppach.

Let's admit one thing from the start: Guthrie has been bad this year. He's been banished to the bullpen for a short time. His numbers are ugly. But all that just means he might come cheap. And if the Mets don't want to use Miguel Batista to fill in for Dillon Gee, and if Matt Harvey isn't ready, they might need a MLB-caliber arm. Enter Guthrie.

The reinvigorated Colon is once again enjoying MLB success. After a solid season with the Yankees in 2011, Colon has been even better with Oakland this year. The front of the Mets rotation is already set with Johan Santana, R.A. Dickey and Jon Niese. But Colon could provide an experienced and formidable right arm down the stretch to team with them, especially if the Mets' planned replacements for Dillon Gee don't work out.