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          New York Mets

          Morning Briefing: Is a Jose Reyes reunion possible?

          • Adam Rubin, ESPN Staff WriterJul 28, 2015, 10:30 AM
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              Adam Rubin has covered the Mets since 2003. He's a graduate of Mepham High School on Long Island and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He joined ESPNNewYork after spending 10 years at the New York Daily News.
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          NEW YORK --

          FIRST PITCH: The New York Mets apparently believe the Washington Nationals are vulnerable this season.

          For the second time in a four-day span, general manager Sandy Alderson bolstered the major league roster at the expense of minor league pitching depth.

          Tyler Clippard was acquired from the Oakland Athletics on Monday in exchange for Class A right-hander Casey Meisner. Clippard joins ex-Atlanta Braves Juan Uribe and Kelly Johnson as well as 2014 first-round pick Michael Conforto as the newest additions to the Mets.

          And Alderson may not be done yet. The Amazin's are hopeful they will still add an outfielder before Friday's 4 p.m. ET non-waiver trade deadline. The GM is speaking with four or five teams. Possibilities include Gerardo Parra, Jay Bruce and Will Venable.

          The Mets (51-48) enter Tuesday's series opener against the San Diego Padres trailing the underachieving Nats by two games for first place in the NL East. The Mets now trail the San Francisco Giants by four games for the second wild-card slot.

          The Mets and Nats have a showdown in Queens next weekend.

          First, Noah Syndergaard (4-5, 2.97 ERA) opposes Padres right-hander James Shields (8-3, 3.77) at 7:10 p.m. ET in Game No. 100 for the Mets this season.

          David Wright, cleared for baseball activity, is expected to begin working out with teammates at Citi Field on Tuesday or Wednesday.

          TUESDAY'S NEWS REPORTS:

          • The Mets now have four relievers with closing experience as Clippard joins current closer Jeurys Familia as well as Bobby Parnell and Jenrry Mejia. Mejia will be ineligible for the postseason if the Mets qualify as part of his PED suspension. Clippard had a 2.79 ERA and 17 saves this season with Oakland, although he also had walked 4.9 batters per nine innings. Lefties are hitting only .100 (7-for-70) against him. The Athletics kicked in $1 million to cover the roughly $3.1 million remaining on Clippard's contract, which expires at season's end. The Mets paid a heavier price for renting Clippard than they did when they sent minor league right-handers John Gant and Rob Whalen to Atlanta for Uribe and Johnson. The 6-foot-7 Meisner had been a combined 10-4 with a 2.35 ERA between Savannah and St. Lucie. “What the heck are the Mets doing?” ESPN's Keith Law tweeted. The trade was the first between Alderson and protégé Billy Beane. Read Law's ESPN Insider critique here. Read more in the Post, Daily News, San Francisco Chronicle, Washington Post, Times, Journal, Newsday, Record and MLB.com.

          • The Mets were not the only team active. In a late-night blockbuster, a pair of shortstops coveted by Mets fans were swapped, with Troy Tulowitzki headed to the Toronto Blue Jays and Jose Reyes headed to the Colorado Rockies. If Reyes was a throw-in with Colorado to offset Tulowitzki's salary, perhaps the Rockies will make him available. (Mets fans can dream of a reunion, right?) Reyes, 32, maintains his primary residence in Old Brookville on Long Island. He is owed $22 million a season in 2016 and 2017. There also is a team option for that amount for the following season, with a $4 million buyout. Read more in the Post and Daily News.

          • Travis d'Arnaud went 1-for-3 and caught seven innings for Double-A Binghamton on Monday in the third game of his rehab assignment. D'Arnaud plans to catch a full game Tuesday with the B-Mets and should be activated from the disabled list later this week.

          • Zack Wheeler began throwing Monday in Port St. Lucie, Florida, for the first time since undergoing Tommy John surgery in March. Wheeler is eyeing a June or July 2016 return. Read more in the Post, Newsday and at MLB.com.

          • Darin Gorski allowed three runs in six innings and Las Vegas was blanked by Reno, 3-0. L.J. Mazzilli drove in the lone run in Binghamton's 4-1 loss to New Britain. Jeff McNeil delivered a walk-off RBI single to lift St. Lucie past Daytona, 2-1. Martires Arias tossed six scoreless innings as Savannah beat Greensboro, 9-0. Matt Reynolds played shortstop for the first time since June 25 and Cesar Puello resurfaced with an 0-for-3 performance off the bench as the Gulf Coast League Mets won, 8-1. Read the full minor league recap here.

          • Columnist Mike Vaccaro in the Post notes the Mets have a cupcake schedule the remainder of the season. Of the remaining 63 games, 48 are against teams currently with losing records. Meanwhile, the Nats -- who play the same NL East dreck -- have only 19 games remaining against teams with winning records, Vaccaro notes.

          • Columnist John Harper in the Daily News wants one more move from Alderson.

          • Columnist David Lennon in Newsday celebrates that it is not “wait 'til next year” any longer in Queens.

          • Fred Kerber in the Post explains how the moves have reenergized the Mets.

          • Columnist Ken Davidoff in the Post suggests the Mets are using the Yankees' playbook for October success.

          • Jared Diamond in the Journal advises fans how to balance watching a Mets game and making a purchase at Shake Shack.

          • The Mets have the hardest-throwing staff in the majors, with more than 21 percent of their pitches registering at least 95 mph, Mike Petriello writes at MLB.com.

          • Steven Marcus in Newsday asks Greg Jefferies about the pressure Conforto may be facing.

          • From the bloggers … Faith and Fear explores the mood swings a Mets game can entail. … Mets Report believes Bruce is the best fit.

          BIRTHDAYS: No one to play for the Mets was born on July 28, but Harry Kane, Soulja Boy and Zach Parise celebrate birthdays.

          TWEET OF THE DAY:

          YOU'RE UP: Do you believe a reunion between Reyes and the Mets is possible?