In the middle of a news conference Friday about how the shortcomings of the New York Mets’ roster led to Carlos Mendoza’s dismissal as manager, the Aug. 3 trade deadline invariably popped up.Would the Mets actually buy in a last-ditch effort to salvage their season? A somber David Stearns had no interest in fielding the question.“I’m not focused on the trade deadline at all right now,” said Stearns, the Mets president of baseball operations.Despite the Mets getting healthier, it is getting harder to envision them as a team worth adding to. Instead, they will likely end up selling. The Mets have a few attractive trade candidates on expiring deals, starting with Freddy Peralta and relievers Brooks Raley and A.J. Minter. The only intrigue that may exist a month from now is how far they’d go in trading others.Record: 35-49Record this time last season: 48-36Standing: 5th in NL EastPlayoff odds: 5.9 percent (FanGraphs), 0.1 percent (Baseball Reference)If the season ended today: Eliminated from playoff contentionBiggest series between now and the deadline: Will play the Atlanta Braves in a four-game set on the road beginning Friday. The Mets need to win as many games as possible before the All-Star break to avoid a major selloff, and the Braves jump out as their toughest opponent.Current needs: The Mets have the lowest fWAR in MLB at both first base (-1.1) and second base (-0.4). After injuries and poor production, the Mets lacked rotation depth because their pitchers in the upper minors weren’t ready for major-league opportunities. They can no longer count on Brett Baty and Mark Vientos as inexpensive depth and don’t have another hotshot position-player prospect bursting through the minors after graduating Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing to the majors.History says: The Mets’ last full sale at the deadline under Cohen happened in 2023, before Stearns took over. Back then, Cohen authorized a selloff when the Mets were six games below .500. There were times during a given season in Milwaukee when Stearns did both some buying and some selling, but that was in an entirely different market with different expectations.What will determine what they do: Before a seven-game losing streak last week, the feeling around the Mets was that they could wait and see how things looked around the All-Star break. But things just worsened. Barring a wild run that is looking increasingly unlikely by the day, the Mets will likely be sellers.What should they do: Sell. Sure, at this point, it remains prudent to wait until around the All-Star break or shortly afterward before making any decisions. But there are too many teams in front of the Mets in the National League wild-card picture, with a couple starting to pull away from the pack. While New York is getting healthier, it’s getting too late for returns to matter. If the Mets mount some kind of winning streak soon, perhaps they could avoid a complete selloff. The problem is, the Mets have failed to demonstrate at any point this season that they are a good team.