Rod Barajas is prominent among possible catchers whom the Rangers are scouting as spring moves into summer, and the July 31 Trade Deadline gets closer.

The Rangers had interest in Barajas in the offseason as a free agent, and industry sources said the club will have interest again if the Mets look to move him.

The Mets are not in a selling mode yet. But they are sitting in last place in the National League East, while Barajas is off to a strong start. He went into the weekend series with the Yankees hitting .276, with 10 home runs and 24 RBIs in his first 33 games.

– T.R. Sullivan and Chris Cox, MLB.com.

I should mention before I get into this that watching Rod Barajas play baseball has been one of the most thrilling parts, for me, of being a Mets fan this season. And that’s not despite his relative inability to get on base, it’s in part because of it. Barajas takes lots of massive cuts, and when he squares one up, whoa nelly. That’s a spectacular thing to see, and it’s happening pretty damn frequently. More than half of Barajas’ hits have been for extra bases. Dude’s slugging .551. He has provided the Mets way, way more than they could have hoped for, and more than they could have hoped for from Bengie Molina for way less money.

Oh, and he comes to the plate to “Low Rider” and “California Love.” And when pressed for quotes, he provides some of the smartest baseball analysis you’ll ever hear from an active player. He’s the only person connected with the team that I’ve heard even suggest that Jenrry Mejia might need more than one pitch to succeed at the Major League level. I hope the Mets make Rod Barajas their manager someday. I really do.

Also, I don’t believe the Mets will become trade-deadline sellers if they’re even remotely near playoff contention. As long as the current front office is in place, I have my doubts that the team will ever cut bait on a season or trade their home-run leader to a more legitimate contender.

Nor does this administration appear likely to sell high on a player, ever. If anything, these Mets seem more apt to sign Barajas to an extension now, while his OPS+ is 22 points higher than it ever has been for a full season.

But trading Barajas now would indeed be selling high on a player who has never performed like this before, so, depending on the return, it could be a shrewd move. The Rangers are obviously too smart to give up the type of package a catcher with an .840 OPS should net, since I’m certain no one values Barajas as a catcher who can maintain an .840 OPS.

The Rangers have one of the league’s best Minor League systems and a ton of young pitching, though, and if the Mets could net even a halfway decent prospect or a useful player for the future for a 34-year-old catcher signed to a one-year deal playing way above his head, in a season in which they appear unlikely to contend, then, you know, duh.

I’d guess that the only way it would happen, though, is if Josh Thole forces the issue from Triple-A Buffalo. Thole appears to be getting about that, going 11-for-21 in his last six games with five doubles, a home run and three walks to raise his season line to .250/.314/.417. If Thole keeps hitting and Henry Blanco keeps playing well as the big-league backup, Barajas may seem a lot more expendable soon.