Mets…playoffs or nah?

As the MLB regular season draws to a close, the wild card race continues to heat up as teams fight for key positioning for October.

While there are still some questions regarding the American League wild card race, the NL Central race is coming down to the wire.

The New York Mets are currently in a tight race for the final wild card spot in the National League with the Cincinnati Reds and Arizona Diamondbacks.

At the time I’m writing this article, the Mets currently have a one-game lead over Cincy and Arizona.

A team that once held an eight and a half game lead in the race, they now need to fight for their playoff lives with just a few games remaining.

This is also the team that boasted the best record in Major League Baseball from opening day to June 12 (45-24). Since then, they are 37-53, which exposed many weaknesses all around the roster.

Margin for error is extremely small for the Mets. Both Cincinnati and Arizona hold tiebreakers over them, so the only thing New York needs to do is keep on winning to stay afloat.

A big issue with New York this season that resulted in a big collapse is the starting rotation. Since July 1, the rotation has a 4.73 ERA, and opponents are hitting .257 against them.

Outside of the young arms of Nolan McLean and Brandon Sproat, the other pieces have all struggled.

David Peterson, Sean Manea and Clay Holmes have all struggled with consistency since July.

Despite an above-average bullpen that also has its struggles at times (Ryan Helsley), this rotation is simply not built for a deep October run.

After an excellent start to the year, we all saw the true colors of this pitching staff.

On the flip side, the offense has struggled with consistency.

The pitching has forced this offense to do all the heavy lifting, making it difficult for the offense to get going regularly.

Despite the inconsistencies, the stats say otherwise. Juan Soto, Pete Alonso and Francisco Lindor have turned in fantastic numbers this season.

The other pieces around them have also been good. Players like Brandon Nimmo, Starling Marte and Jeff McNeil have recorded at least 114 OPS+ thus far. They have played a big role in keeping the Mets afloat.

For New York, the path to October will be a hurdle. With tiebreakers not in their favor, they can’t afford to crumble. Their final stretch of games will decide whether the early-season success was a glimpse of a contender or just a high point that could end up being a disastrous campaign.

One thing is certain: if the Mets do find a way to hang on, they will need both the rotation and the offense to click at the same time in the postseason.

Otherwise, what once looked like a promising season could end with another October on the couch.

Ben Barker is a third-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email bsb5566@psu.edu.