While the New York Mets have yet to settle on a direction one month ahead of the trade deadline, they understand the realities of their position: 15 games under .500, 14th in the National League and 10 games out of the postseason.It will take a remarkable and perhaps historic July to prevent the Mets from selling by Aug. 3.Through recent conversations with people familiar with the Mets’ plans — each person received anonymity in exchange for candor because they were not authorized to speak freely — The Athletic gleaned a broad outline of New York’s priorities for the deadline.In the likely event the Mets do end up selling, expect them to target the best minor-league prospects they can land — regardless of position or proximity to the major leagues. This may sound obvious, but it’s not unusual at the deadline for teams to prioritize, say, pitchers over bats, near-ready players over ones that fit a longer-term timeline.The Mets would aim to accumulate as much talent as possible without caring as much about fit.That said, New York is not contemplating any kind of rebuild or even the kind of retrenchment they embraced the last time they sold in 2023. While not ruling out anything at this point, the Mets will require very strong returns to move any players with team control beyond 2026.This pitcher leads the league in baseball's new flawed swing metricDerek VanRiper and Eno SarrisFurther, the Mets would be open to adding major-league talent at the deadline, though not in the type of “need-for-need” trades they explored last offseason (such as the deal that sent Brandon Nimmo to the Rangers for Marcus Semien). If a major-leaguer with additional team control who fits a longer-term need is available at the deadline, the Mets would look into it regardless of their chances of contending in 2026.A big part of compiling prospects at this deadline would be to better position the farm system for trades for major-league talent this winter. The upcoming free-agent class is generally considered subpar by the industry, and the probability of a lockout could make it more difficult than usual to add impact talent through free agency.