MLB

Gonzalez, Ethier are players who could strengthen Mets in 2013 and beyond

A FUTURE MET? Rockies outfielder Carlos Gonzalez — watching his solo home run during a recent game — has five years and $71 million remaining on his contract and could be a good fit for the Mets if they decide to make a run at him, The Post’s Ken Davidoff writes. (Getty Images)

You’ve mastered Phase One of the Mets’ rebuild. You know that Travis d’Arnaud, Ike Davis, Matt Harvey, Zack Wheeler and David Wright hope to be, in the roughest sense, what Wally Backman, Ron Darling, Dwight Gooden, Darryl Strawberry and Mookie Wilson once were.

By the end of this season, we should be better equipped to answer the next question: Who, if anyone, will be this generation’s Gary Carter, Keith Hernandez and Ray Knight?

If the 2013 Mets, who lost 7-3 to the Phillies last night, surprise the baseball world and stay in contention, they could be July buyers with money to spend; at least, that’s what owner Fred Wilpon said in spring training. They could make an impactful trade even if they’re out of contention; the 1983 Mets were 22-36 and thinking ahead when they acquired Hernandez from St. Louis. Or, more conventionally, they could wait until the offseason and contemplate both trades and free-agent signings.

The in-season trade market could be more active than usual, thanks to a potential glut of teams that might already be cooked by the early summer and a few other extenuating circumstances. Here are some possible Mets trade targets, going from most appealing/likely to the least:

1. Carlos Gonzalez, Rockies

The Rockies, at 5-4, own a winning record at this moment. Want to bet on that lasting? Meanwhile, Baseball America ranks Colorado’s farm system 21st in baseball. If the Rockies decide to blow up what they’re doing, “CarGo,” with five years and $71 million (including 2013) remaining on his contract and just 27 years old, would be an awfully enticing option. The Post’s Joel Sherman predicted in our baseball preview section the Mets would acquire Gonzalez during the season for pitching prospects Noah Syndergaard, Rafael Montero and Domingo Tapia.

2. Andre Ethier, Dodgers

He’s in the first year of a five-year, $85-million contract that features a vesting option for $17.5 million in 2018, and the Dodgers have Cuban outfield prospect Yaisel Puig forcing his way into the conversation. Ethier turned 31 yesterday and he never has been an asset on the defensive side, but he’s one of the most consistently good hitters in the game.

3. Chase Headley, Padres

A third baseman now, he would have to switch back to left field, where he started his career, in order to make this work with Wright. He’s eligible for free agency after 2014, so the Mets couldn’t sacrifice major resources without possessing strong confidence that Headley was agreeable to sticking around long-term.

4. Giancarlo Stanton, Marlins

If the Marlins shop their remaining All-Star, which most everyone in the industry assumes to be inevitable, the Mets will be one of approximately 29 teams in the derby for him. He’s under control through 2016, so the Miami front office would have every reason to expect a haul in return. It’s hard to see how the Mets could pull this off without surrendering Harvey or Wheeler. On the bright side, the Marlins have displayed in the past (Carlos Delgado to the Mets, Dan Uggla to Atlanta) that they hold no reservations about trading players within the National League East.

5. Carl Crawford, Dodgers

If the Dodgers need to clear an outfielder for Puig, then how about keeping Ethier and dealing Crawford, who is off to a blazing start and whose remaining contract is so insane — five years and $102.5 million through 2017 — that he couldn’t possibly cost much in talent? The obvious, screaming downside: If Crawford loathed the scrutiny in Boston, would he feel any better about New York? Probably not.

6. Josh Willingham, Twins

The Twins don’t represent a good bet to stay in contention. The 34-year-old Willingham, though, is a good bet to keep raking through his contract, which runs through next season ($7 million per year). What would the Mets achieve with such a short-term pickup? Well, he could help them make a jump into respectability, and if the Mets were really feeling financially frisky, they could make him a qualifying offer in November 2014 and either give him a lucrative, one-year contract for 2015 or recoup a draft pick.

7. Alfonso Soriano, Cubs

He’s off to a dreadful start, and the rebuilding Cubs owe him $18 million each this year and next year; they will gladly pay a nice chunk of that in order to unload him. He controls his destiny with no-trade protection, and he has told friends he would rather not return to New York. The only way a Soriano trade makes any sense whatsoever is if 1) the Mets actually contend in 2013; and 2) Soriano wakes up and produces as he did last season.