KANSAS CITY -- Some Mets officials may suspect their team may have overachieved to go 46-40 in the first half. But that doesn't mean they aren't taking their team seriously.

Nor does it mean they won't add a piece or two, should the opportunity arise.

One thing Mets people have decided: no top prospects are going anywhere. That means no trade involving Matt Harvey or certainly Zack Wheeler. One scout here said about Wheeler, "He's got the stuff of Clayton Kershaw, but from the right side.''

While some Mets people may not be totally convinced that they are a World Series contender quite yet, the feeling seems to be that they owe it to manager Terry Collins and the players to acquire a useful piece or two. That could mean a veteran reliever or two, and possibly a veteran catcher.

Some of the relievers who could fit them include the ex-Met Francisco Rodriguez plus Grant Balfour, Huston Street, Brett Myers, Brandon Lyon and Jonathan Broxton. The Mets' pen has ranked near the bottom of MLB all year. The catchers that could work, according to a report by Joel Sherman in the New York Post, include Ramon Hernandez, Miguel Olivo and Kelly Shoppach.

One Mets person said it was still too early to say what they might wind up doing.

No one seems to know or say yet how much money they have to spend. But there is one encouraging sign. Said one Mets official, "The name Madoff hasn't been heard around here in a long, long time.''