Here’s a very juicy trade rumor, pardon the pun. According to MetsBlog.com’s Matthew Cerrone, citing “people familiar with the team’s thinking,” “there is a better chance the Brewers trade OF Ryan Braun for Mets 1B Ike Davis than deal OF Norichika Aoki.”

There’s little doubt the Brewers are looking for first-base help after seeing the Major Leagues’ worst production at the position in 2013. And general manager Doug Melvin even acknowledged the Mets as a potential trade partner during the GM meetings last week.

In Davis and Lucas Duda, the Mets have a pair of lefty-hitting first basemen with big power potential that have not yet managed to consistently hit at the Major League level. Davis endured prolonged slumps to start both the 2012 and 2013 season, but he’s a year younger than Duda, a better defender, and has a slightly better Major League resume, so he’s likely the more coveted trade piece.

The Brewers, meanwhile, have a crowded outfield picture, with Braun, Aoki and Carlos Gomez standing in the way of 25-year-old Khris Davis (not to be confused with Orioles slugger Chris Davis), who flourished during Braun’s suspension late in the 2013 season.

But no one anywhere near Milwaukee is likely to outproduce Braun anytime soon, regardless of Braun’s history with performance-enhancing drugs. The 30-year-old left fielder has been one of the very best hitters in the Majors since he was promoted in 2007. Unless you believe that all 211 of his homers in seven big-league seasons were entirely the product of illegal substances, it’d be silly to bet that he’ll be anything short of a great hitter for the foreseeable future.

If the Brewers are eager to get a fresh start without the disgraced face of their franchise, Braun could present a tremendous opportunity for any club willing to overlook his indiscretions and pick him up at the nadir of his value. And under GM Sandy Alderson, the Mets have not shied away from players with PED stigma attached to them, including 2013 success story Marlon Byrd.

Milwaukee owes Braun $113 million over the next seven seasons, which might give pause to the cost-conscious Mets. But Cerrone’s report suggests the Brewers would be willing to eat part of Braun’s salary, giving Alderson an opportunity to pick up an elite offensive performer to pair with David Wright at below market value.

The amount of money the Brewers are willing to take on likely depends on how desperate they are to move on from Braun. But if it’s enough to get his salary down into a range that seems palatable to the Mets, it seems like there’d be another team willing to jump in with something better than Davis to offer. The Mets do have pitching prospects with which to sweeten the pot, though.

The specifics will make the deal, of course. And Braun’s is a complicated case complicated further by his hefty contract. But on face, it looks like potentially a great way for the Mets to add the impact bat they covet without sacrificing a draft pick and overpaying for a free agent, and a way for the Brewers to move on from Braun and pick up a potentially useful young player in the process.

Will all Mets fans be thrilled to see their team acquire a guy with a troubling history of not only using performance-enhancing drugs but also flatly lying about it? Of course not. But until the Mets can start throwing around money like they did in the early part of the last decade, the front office will need to be creative to find players of Braun’s ilk, and nothing comforts a conflicted fan quite like winning.