AMAZIN’S TAKE THE 5TH

5-RUN INNING BURIES JAYS

TORONTO — If they stick to their inclination to keep Jacob de Grom and Noah Syndergaard in the organization through the non-waivers trade deadline, then the Mets will spend this month prioritizing an arduous, low-reward task. Think of it as something to akin to mining for gold in a flea market. And the last time the Mets tried this, just last year, they came back with nothing besides the equivalent of torn comic books and a used blender. Hopelessly out of the playoff race, the Mets owe it to themselves to try to trade their walk-year veterans — Jose Bautista, Jerry Blevins, Asdrubal Cabrera, Jeurys Familia and Devin Mesoraco — by the end of July; Jose Reyes, as you know, carries no trade value. If nothing materializes by then, they can still make deals in August, except it becomes tougher with the waiver rules. The problem comes in the reality that none of these players is a hot commodity. Unlike attractive impending free agents like the Orioles’ Manny Machado or even the Blue Jays’ J.A. Happ, the Mets’ guys reside on the B-list, at best. “And when you get on the B-list,” an industry talent evaluator opined, on the condition of anonymity, “it gets pretty long.” The Mets, who defeated the Blue Jays 6-3, Wednesday night at Rogers Centre with contributions from Bautista, Blevins and Familia, know that all too well. When their 2017 season went to hell, they found themselves as high-quantity, low-quality sellers. They wound up trading five walkyear assets — Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda, Curtis Granderson, Addison Reed and Neil Walker — for a total of seven young pitchers. As The Post’s Mark Sanchez recently detailed, the returns have been highly discouraging so far. The hope was at least some those guys would reinforce a 2018 bullpen that performed awfully last year. Instead, three of the seven have pitched in the majors this year, and that trio — Drew Smith (0.1), Jacob Rhame (-0.2) and Gerson Bautista (-0.3) — have a combined -0.4 Wins Above Replacement, as per Baseball-Reference.com. In other words, they have been collectively worse than the proverbial Quadruple-A pitcher. The highest-ranked pitcher of the group, Jamie Callahan, is out for the year after undergoing right shoulder surgery, putting his future in doubt. Somehow, the Mets must do better this time, be it through improved scouting or just better luck. While paying down more of the players’ salaries never hurts a team’s leverage, it won’t create any sort of profound leap in return, not when so many relievers and infielders appear to be available in the trade market. It’s a different dynamic for guys like Wilmer Flores, Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler who can offer more team control; Flores and Wheeler will be eligible for free agency after 2019 and Matz after 2021. In these cases, the Mets can aim higher in their returns, although they also have to factor in 1) Wheeler’s and Matz’s many health battles; and 2) whether they want Flores to keep blocking Dominic Smith and/or Peter Alonso at first base. A respectable return might present enough incentive to pull the trigger. A selloff of de Grom and/or Syndergaard would represent a 180-degree turn from trying to convince clubs to take a shot on a Cabrera or Familia. The Mets would be in a position to infuse their thin farm system with the returns on guys like that. They’d have multiple suitors coming to them instead of attempting to convince opponents to make a deal. If they’re serious on keeping their best arms, though, then it’ll be off to the flea market. When you don’t have great stuff to sell, you’re playing the lottery. Has good fortune really worked in the Mets’ favor lately?