There are 20 days until the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline, when the Mets are expected to trade multiple players.

Based on recent performance, demand and buzz from insiders, I still expect Zack Wheeler and Jeurys Familia will be traded this month. I still see no way Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Seth Lugo or Robert Gsellman are dealt before this winter, if they're ever traded at all.

Asdrubal Cabrera, Devin Mesoraco, and Jerry Blevins could get dealt this July, though I expect all three will need to be moved through waivers in August. The same can be said for Todd Frazier and Anthony Swarzak, both of whom are under contract through next season (with Bruce under contract through 2020) and unlikely to be attractive unless a team gets desperate.

Amed Rosario is becoming a silver lining to this season, especially given the need for young, productive, everyday position players in the organization.

Rosario had three hits Tuesday night, including two triples, two runs scored and one RBI.

"All the time I'm thinking about taking the extra base. As soon as I hit the ball and saw where it landed and the way they were playing against me, I knew that I could take the triple," Rosario said. "Personally it was a very good night for me. But as a team, unfortunately we couldn't win."

It's also worth noting that he's playing much better in the field.

"We played a doubleheader yesterday and he brought that kind of energy today. That's what young players do," Mickey Callaway said Tuesday night about Rosario. "He's doing a great job with his development. I think it's going to pay dividends in the end."

Rosario is only batting .242 this season, however he also has 14 doubles, four triples, four home runs, and 22 RBI in 85 games this season. Equally important, he's striking out less and walking more than he did in his debut.

He either needs to start swinging at fewer pitches outside of the strike zone, or start making more contact on the pitches he's swinging at, otherwise he's going to always struggle with batting average and drawing enough walks to pump up his On Base Percentage. Nevertheless, he's still just 22 years old, full of energy, learning from his time on the big-league roster and betting better because of it. He's going to be just fine...

Even though he went on the disabled list with a hip injury, I predicted here roughly one month ago that we'd eventually hear that Jay Bruce is dealing with a spine issue that will require a more comprehensive rehab plan.

Remember, prior to his current DL stint, he complained on record about experiencing pain in his lower back and upper buttocks, after which he complained of the hip.

As we know from David Wright's situation, nearby muscles often to go into spasm and experience referred pain when the facet joints in the spine are inflamed...

Sure enough, after again experience pain in his hip this past weekend, Bruce told the Daily News that he recently received an injection in one of the facet joints in his back, after which he was shut down for 10 days.

The injection is intended to help reduce inflammation in the joint. Of course, there's no guarantee it will work. And even if it does, the pains often reemerge because the shot is not a permanent solution to the main issue at hand.

In case you forgot, Bruce signed a three-year deal with the Mets this past winter that will pay him $11 million this year and $14 million each of the next two seasons.

Drew Gagnon is all the evidence needed to know the Mets have got to find a way to inject more, major-league ready, quality young talent in to their farm system.

In need of a starting pitcher because Syndergaard and Jason Vargas are on the DL, Gagnon, 28, was called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to make his big-league debut after spending eight seasons in the minor leagues.

As expected, Gagnon got smoked, let up six runs, two home runs, hit two batters, threw a wild pitch and will likely be returned to Vegas.

He can, however, pat himself on the back for driving in a run with a sacrifice fly in the second. With it, he know has just three fewer RBI this season than Jose Reyes, who has 121 more at bats this year than Gagnon.

By the way, all three New York pitchers last night began this season in Triple-A, which is a small clue in to why the Mets are on pace to lose their most games (97) since 1993.

Matthew Cerrone (Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Contact) is lead writer of MetsBlog.com, which he created in 2003. He also hosts the MetsBlog Podcast, which you can subscribe to here. His new book, The New York Mets Fans' Bucket List, details 44 things every Mets fan should experience during their lifetime. To check it out, click here!

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