The New York Mets could be one of the more aggressive buyers at the trade deadline, and it might result in a huge trade with the Cleveland Guardians.

The Mets' recent struggles on the mound and at key lineup spots highlight their need for a power bat like Mike Trout, with trade speculation heating up ahead of the deadline.

The Mets' return from the All-Star break provided plenty of hoopla, but the three-game set against the Reds at Citi Field was not as celebratory.

New York Mets slugger Pete Alonso avoided ending his streak of consecutive games played on Sunday. Alonso entered the team's clash with the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning after he was initially out of the starting lineup with a hand injury (h/t Will Sammon of The Athletic).

The Cincinnati Reds lost in the finale but became just the fourth team to beat the New York Mets in a series at Citi Field this year.

Juan Soto dashed home with the go-ahead run in the eighth inning, beating a throw to the plate on Luis Torrens’ sharp grounder to second base, and the New York Mets avoided a three-game sweep with a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds.

CINCINNATI — Taking two out of three games from the New York Mets is good. However, Sunday’s 3-2 loss for the Reds is a missed opportunity to earn a huge sweep of a good Mets team and further dent into the National League Wild Card race.

Juan Soto finds himself in quite the historic company. The New York Mets slugger has started his tenure with his new team in a way no one has in 89 years. In fact, only two players in MLB history have done what Soto has done with the Mets, and their names are Babe Ruth and Jimmie Foxx.

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Mets look to break their three-game home slide with a win against the Cincinnati Reds. New York has gone 33-16 at home and 55-44 overall. Mets pitchers have a collective 3.61 ERA, which ranks second in the NL.