The Mets have nothing assured, but have pretty strong odds on making the postseason for consecutive years for just the third time in their history and – in the best outcome – winning the NL East for the first time since 2015 with one of the two best NL records to gain a first-round bye.

The Mets have acquired Baltimore Orioles left-handed reliever Gregory Soto in exchange for pitching prospects Wellington Aracena and Cameron Foster on Friday afternoon.

The Orioles will be operating as sellers ahead of Thursday’s 6 p.m. ET Trade Deadline. The speculation surrounding the club’s potential strategy turned into confirmation with a move that was made Friday afternoon.