It’s mid-May and the Mets are in first place … just barely. With the Phillies nipping at their heels and Atlanta making a surge, the glass-half-empty guy could say that the Mets are just a game or two from being out of the playoffs. While organizations tend to shy away from depending on young talent in a pennant race, one need only to look at last year’s Braves to see that teams are sometimes rewarded for playing competent rookies. With that in mind, here are four suggestions for the Mets that might look unorthodox on the surface, but could help earn the club its first post-season appearance since 2000.

1. Bench Kaz Matsui and give the second base job to Anderson Hernandez.

Those who saw Hernandez go 6-for-41 (.146) in the season’s first two weeks might think this is insane, but we never got to see a healthy Hernandez. His back had been bothering him since spring training, but the opportunity to play every day in the big leagues kept him from complaining about it. In reality, a healthy Hernandez is a singles hitting machine, capable of batting .280-.300 in the big leagues, though with little walks or power. Throw in plus defensive skills along with the ability to steal bases and he’s a significant upgrade over Matsui, who has worn out his welcome.

Hernandez is not the long-term answer at the position, however, and the Mets should look into acquiring Adam Kennedy from the Angels, who are looking to move the veteran in order to get uber-prospect Howie Kendrick into the lineup.

2. Trade Cliff Floyd at the deadline and promote Lastings Milledge.

On the surface, this may sound risky, but it makes the Mets a better team. First off, Floyd is a free agent at the end of the year. Carlos Beltran is obviously locked into the outfield for a long time, and by giving Xavier Nady consistent at-bats, the Mets have found a cheap, productive right fielder. That leaves Floyd as the odd man out for the future, as Milledge will not spend 2007 in the minor leagues.

So why not just accelerate the timetable by dealing Floyd and actually getting something for him? There will be teams out there in late July willing to pay for a left-handed hitting outfielder with power, and they should be willing to give the Mets some talent that could help them win this year. In addition, Milledge is just as good as Floyd right now, if not better, and along with the talent the team would acquire for Floyd, the trade would certainly net an overall profit for the team, both this year and in the long run.

3. Bring up 2005 first-round pick Mike Pelfrey in August.

What, you’d rather they keep giving starts to Jose Lima? The Mets were able to nab Pelfrey – considered by many to be the best pitcher available – with the ninth pick in last year’s draft because the teams selecting one through eight were afraid of Pelfrey’s bonus demands. Negotiations between the Mets and super-agent Scott Boras lasted until just before spring training, and Pelfrey eventually signed for a $3.5 million up-front bonus as part of a total package that could be worth as much as $6.6 million.

That’s a lot of money for someone who has yet to throw a major league pitch, but Pelfrey has been outstanding so far. Already in Double-A, he has 50 strikeouts in 43.2 innings, and while he’s been a bit too hittable since being promoted to the Eastern League, he has everything it takes to make the proper adjustments, and should be ready by the end of the summer.

When the call comes, Pelfrey won’t need to be handled with kid gloves. At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, he’s an inning seating workhorse who throws plenty of strikes and has the ability to maintain his mid-90s velocity deep into games. By 2008, he could be the best pitcher on the Mets staff. In the more immediate future, he could be winning some huge games down the stretch.

4. Get Henry Owens in the bullpen.

Who? Remember the name, because Owens is one of the more intriguing arms in the Mets system, if not all of baseball.

A backup catcher at a Division-II school in Florida with seemingly no professional future, Owens was convinced by Pittsburgh scout Delvy Santiago to at least temporarily put off medical school to give pitching a try. Owens pitched well coming out of the bullpen for the Pirates, and they took a risk by exposing him to the minor league Rule 5 draft at the end of 2004, where the Mets took him.

At 27, Owens is the definition of “late bloomer,” but he’s unique in that he’s gained velocity throughout his career, going from the low-90s to the mid-90s in a few years, and then reportedly reaching 100 mph on occasion this winter in Puerto Rico. Closing at Double-A Birmingham, Owens has sat in the upper 90s and been among the most dominant relievers in baseball, striking out 33 in just 14.2 innings. That’s 33 of 55 batters faced, a remarkable percentage at any level, and no better indicator that Owens has the ability to retire major league batters.

He’s currently dealing with an elbow injury that is being described by the Mets as minor, and once he comes back, if he’s 100%, he should replace Darren Oliver, whose deal with the devil should be expiring any second now.

Mr. Goldstein is a regular writer for Baseball Prospectus. For more state-of-the-art commentary and information, visit www.baseballprospectus.com.