NL East

The New York Mets are clearly within arm’s reach of a World Series title, and many fans are patiently awaiting news of a major offensive transaction that they believe is necessary to bring a championship back to Queens for the first time in 30 years.

The news was stunning, unexpected but completely understandable.

The Houston Astros completed their trade with the Philadelphia Phillies to acquire closer Ken Giles, a flamethrower with huge upside and under club control for the next five seasons. The trade happened Wednesday but was not made official until Saturday afternoon.

In a surprise twist to a deal that was reported earlier this week, the Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies pulled a sleight of hand with 2013 No. 1 overall pick Mark Appel going to the Phillies as part of the Ken Giles trade. 

Close your eyes, Washington Nationals fans, and picture it: Bryce Harper and Jason Heyward, two of the game's most dynamic young players, roaming the outfield together.

It's far from a sure thing, but it's also not an impossible dream.

The rumor, which dropped as the winter meetings were wrapping up in Nashville, Tennessee, on Thursday, came courtesy of CBSSports.com's Jon Heyman:

After listening to the buzz over the last few weeks, many of us expected Ben Zobrist to be a New York Met right now. Instead, he's a Chicago Cub. C'est la hot stove.

But while the Mets would certainly love to have Zobrist on their side, settling for the next-best thing is never a bad idea.

In a deal that sent over closer Ken Giles to the Houston Astros, the Philadelphia Phillies acquired pitchers Vincent Velasquez, Brett Oberholtzer, a minor leaguer who is reportedly outfielder Derek Fisher and a fourth player on Wednesday, pending physicals, according to MLB.com's

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