Mets' Playoff Hopes Unofficially Bashed After Tuesday's Loss to the Cubs

After all that work, it will be for naught.

It's hard to imagine the Mets having much of a shot at making the MLB postseason after losing to the Cubs on Tuesday. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Following another bad loss to a solid but not great National League team, the Mets can officially punt on the remainder of this season, as their 2026 playoff hopes are all but over.

With a 9-6 loss to the Cubs on Tuesday, the Mets dropped back to 10-games under .500, and are once again much closer to the bottom tier of NL teams than they are to being back in the playoff hunt. After what seemed like a solid stretch that would bridge them back to the return of shortstop Francisco Lindor, the Mets are once again bottoming out.

Starting pitcher Kodai Senga has been arguably baseball's worst in his seven starts this year, this time being lit up by a Cubs lineup that hasn't been in a strong stretch of late. It did not matter at all, as he allowed seven earned runs, which raised his ERA to an unfathomable mark of 10.08. Somehow worse, the Mets seemingly have no other options to turn to, as Senga and lefty David Peterson are needed to continue to go out every fifth day despite brutal results.

Kodai Senga's latest performance will be one of the many reasons why the Mets likely won't qualify for the MLB playoffs. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

With no light at the end of the tunnel for the Mets' starting pitching, they would need to rely on a mediocre lineup that lacks the depth to compete with the best of the league. Juan Soto—now dealing with a back injury—has played at an MVP level, but the lineup still lacks any other bat with an OPS above .750.

With bad pitching and no hitting depth, the Mets are facing an impossible climb to save their season. Unfortunately for Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and his team, their uphill battle is too steep to ascend.

Mets' playoff hopes are all but dead before June is over

With their third loss in a row, the Mets fell to 34-44 on the year, which puts them seven games behind the Cubs in the loss column as they chase the final NL wild card spot. On top of that, there are half a dozen—yes, six—teams separate New York and Chicago.

Ultimately, considering their roster and its struggles, this is too large a mountain for the Mets to climb. It might feel early to say this, but New York is simply a bad team at this rate, and it might be time for President of Baseball Operations David Stearns to go all in as sellers before the Aug. 3 MLB trade deadline.

Freddy Peralta would be among the Mets' top trade chips at the deadline now that their season is lost. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

Not only are the Mets bad, but they seem to be getting worse. Not even counting their 15-3 drubbing at the hands of the Phillies, the Mets have allowed 19 runs in their three most recent games. As their staff gets worse, their options become more limited, with the likes of Jonah Tong continuing to struggle in Triple-A Syracuse, and no one else has stepped up.

The Mets have three starting pitchers they can trust right now, once Christian Scott returns, and even that is debatable with how small Sean Manaea's starting sample size is. There is no stability in the Mets' rotation, so how can they make a run back into the playoffs with an unstable rotation that has produced the NL's second-worst starter ERA at 4.74?

It is tough to admit after such optimism over the winter, but 2026 has been an unbridled disaster for Mendoza and his staff. It is in the best long-term interest of the franchise if the powers that be recognize that this season is a lost cause and begin moving on towards 2027, starting with selling off veteran pieces ahead of the looming trade deadline.

With that being said, there are 84 games remaining on the schedule, meaning Mets fans will likely have to suffer through even more woes before reaching the other side of the tunnel.