After losing a suspended game and the game that followed, the Mets entered Saturday at 33-36, three games under .500, 7.5 games behind the Braves in the National League East and five games back of the Phillies for the second wild card spot.
With the MLB trade deadline just six weeks away, it is worth wondering if the Mets are going to be buyers or sellers.
GM Brodie Van Wagenen believes the team can still contend for the postseason, at least for now.
"I don't think my mindset or the mission statement for this franchise has changed," he said before Saturday's game against the Cardinals at Citi Field. "It's been our goal to win now and our goal is to win in the future. So moves that we make will have an eye towards that.
"My hope and my belief is that we can be in contention over the course of the next several weeks and can continue to push that gas pedal down. As we look beyond 2019 we'll always be opportunistic to make moves to put us in a position to accomplish our goal."
As far as what kind of moves the Mets could potentially make, adding help to the bullpen seems to be the most obvious and pressing concern. Closer Edwin Diaz blew a save and took the loss in Thursday's suspended game while Jeurys Familia blew a four-run eighth inning lead Friday night.
Van Wagenen did make a minor trade on Saturday, acquiring Triple-A reliever Brooks Pounders from the Indians to join the bullpen immediately.
"We made a move today to try to increase the success out of the back of our bullpen," he said. "We will continue to look for opportunities to get better. The bottom line is we want to win tonight, we want to win tomorrow and win as many games as we can as we move forward."
The next couple of weeks could be decisive in how the Mets approach the trade deadline. As Van Wagenen noted, the Mets have several games against both the Braves and Phillies over the next couple of weeks. They play two series against both teams before the All-Star break, including seven games against the Phillies and 10 of their next 14 against the NL East rivals once they complete their series with the Cardinals this weekend.
"We have important games in front of us over the next couple of weeks and we anticipate to be competitive in that period down," Van Wagenen said.
And if Van Wagenen does lose faith that the team can be a contender?
"When that faith has waned, then different actions may dictate that response," he said.