3 Burning Questions Still Loom Over the Mets as Their Season Hangs in the Balance

The Mets have shown signs of life, but at 27-35, their season remains uncertain. From David Stearns's future plans to their playoff hopes, three major questions still linger.

What the Mets' roster will look like in a few short months is one of the biggest burning questions at the moment. | John Jones-Imagn Images

Two months into a disastrous season, and still, many questions for the Mets remain unanswered. From slow starts from mostly every player to a dysfunctional clubhouse fueled by very little accountability, it’s truly been tough to watch the Mets play baseball. Yet at 27-35 with 100 games remaining, there still remains a slight chance of magic happening.

While it’s far too early to wave the white flag on the season, the Mets quickly need to string together a stretch of consistent and solid play. With their season up in the air this month, here are three questions that remain unanswered.

1. What will this team look like come Aug. 3?

It’s hard to imagine where the Mets will be in exactly two months. With two full months of play in the books, the Mets put together a 16-12 stretch in May, meaning positive baseball is slowly trickling back into the frame. However, there is still much catching up to do.

David Stearns has declined to speak every time he’s been asked whether the Mets will consider selling at the deadline, with the President of Baseball Operations still firmly believing this team has a shot. Part of it is saving himself from blame; the other is the excuse of injury, with help soon to be back. Jorge Polanco will rejoin the team this weekend, with Francisco Alvarez soon on the way back. Francisco Lindor could follow within the next few weeks, providing the lineup with three key contributors.

Francisco Alvarez should give the Mets a boost when he returns to the lineup. | John Jones-Imagn Images

If the Mets find themselves out of the playoffs by just two or three games, there’s a world where they even add to strengthen their current roster.

However, they currently sit six games back. If this continues, there’s a world where Stearns opts to bolster their farm system ahead of the pending lockout. There are several players on the current roster with expiring contracts, including Freddy Peralta, who could garner interest from playoff contenders looking to strengthen their rotation. Mark Vientos and Brett Baty continue to struggle and are other potential candidates to be moved, possibly drawing interest due to their age and team control until 2030.

2. How long will David Stearns ride scot-free?

Yes, in sports, usually it’s easiest to place the blame on the manager or coaching staff. However, how much longer can we go blaming Carlos Mendoza? In his third year, Mendoza hasn’t been perfect. There’s clearly some sort of division in the locker room that’s led to the consistent mental mistakes, whether he isn’t getting to the locker room or the manager of a struggling team has simply checked out.

David Stearns deserves some heat for what's gone wrong this season. | Jim Rassol-Imagn Images

However, Mendoza can only do so much with the roster he inherited. Stearns built this team by attempting to use the same blueprint that worked so well in Milwaukee. Taking a balanced approach offensively with under-the-radar names, while relying on analytics to take the wheel. In the first season of the full-on Stearns plan, it’s been a complete nightmare. Every one of his offseason additions has underperformed offensively, with Polanco and Luis Robert Jr. sitting on the injured list since April, while Marcus Semien continues on a downward spiral, which was apparent over the last several seasons, and Bo Bichette’s contract ages on a similar path to Jason Bay’s.

Stearns allowed four key pieces of this roster to walk, and while the Mets failed to win with any of them, it’s been apparent their subtractions have left a gaping hole. For Stearns, he needs to quickly realize this is no longer a small-market team; he is playing with the big bucks in New York City, holding a blank checkbook for one of the richest in the world. Less thinking, more spending.

3. Can the Mets really do the “impossible?”

As Gary Cohen once said in 2016 after Bartolo Colon hit a home run, “the impossible has happened.” At this point, the Mets making the playoffs feels almost as improbable as that. Currently, the Mets have a 19.0% chance of making the playoffs, according to FanGraphs. It’s not zero, but it’s still very low.

The Mets will need leaders like Juan Soto to continue to lead by example if they're going to make the playoffs. | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The Mets will almost need to be perfect down the stretch. June presents them with a tough challenge, playing 19 games against teams currently holding National League playoff spots. Their series against the red-hot Mariners wasn’t pretty; they fell to a team that had won eight straight twice before finally scraping together a 7-1 win to avoid the sweep.

With injury help on the way, the Mets will have the perfect opportunity to put consistent at-bats from glorified bench pieces away while also adding a key defender like Lindor to shortstop, moving Bo Bichette back to third, with Polanco taking back first from a lost Vientos. Obviously, it’s no longer early, but the Mets have done it before. All it took was a man in a purple suit and a washed-up veteran who started making music to turn things around.