Daniel Murphy has been on a tear at the big league level over the last week and a half. The second baseman is hitting .385 with two home runs, five RBIs, and five runs scored. He’s seen his season batting average jump from .258 to .293 during that span. His eight-game hitting streak was snapped last night, but he enjoyed four multi-hit games during that run. During his recent hot streak, Wilmer Flores has been playing second base for the Las Vegas 51s, and his bat is starting to come to life. My question is: would the Mets sell high on Murph in order to get an outfield bat, knowing they have Flores waiting in the wings?

In 41 games and 159 at-bats during his first season in Triple-A, Flores is hitting .270/.322/.440 with four home runs and 27 RBIs. He’s been adjusting to the next level of competition in the Pacific Coast League, but is slugging .553 over his last ten games, including three of the four homers he’s hit this season.

The 21-year-old Venezuelan native began his professional career with the Mets as a shortstop, but has moved around quite a bit. He was seen as a player with a tremendous bat, but not place to put him on the field. This season, the organization has decided to play him at second base to see how he adjusts to the position, and to find out if there is a future for him. Flores has committed four errors in 145 chances at his new spot on the field in 2013, good for a .972 fielding percentage. It will certainly be a work in progress, but it will be no different than the transformation we watched Murphy go through over the last two seasons.

With regard to the big league club, there are plenty of holes that need to be filled. Some may go as far to say that the only everyday players that should return for 2014 are Murphy and David Wright. If Murph is performing well, then why trade him away? Unfortunately, for the Mets to get close to something they desire (an outfield bat), they’ll have to give up something valuable. No one is knocking down the door to trade someone of value for Ike Davis right now (that would be awesome, wouldn’t it?), so Sandy Alderson will have to use a different potential trade chip.

While I like watching Murphy play and enjoy seeing him hit at the top of the lineup, he’s the most valuable piece on the Mets roster that may not be around for the future of this team. Now that Flores has been moved primarily to second base this season, the foreshadowing has been set for the eventual departure of Murphy. Unlike 2012, he’s shown an increase in power (18 extra base-hits), which Alderson could use to his advantage in any trade discussions.

After seeing the type of start New York has gotten off to this season, I want to see the organization commit to finding out who has a future with the organization and who doesn’t. I’d rather see Juan Lagares play center field every day instead of Rick Ankiel because I know Ankiel won’t be here past 2013, but Lagares has been called “the future,” and I want to see if he really is.

If Flores continues to hit over the next month and a half and Murphy does the same at the big league level, I would like to see Alderson move Murph as part of a package to grab a proven outfield bat, and give Flores a chance. Although he’s only 21-years-old, a move like this would also allow Jordany Valdespin to get more playing time at his natural position, and we’d find out if he’s in the plans for the future or not.

I would hate to watch Murphy head out of town, but switching positions for Flores gives us an inkling that the incumbent second baseman in the majors won’t be around for much longer.