A season that once looked poised to see the New York Mets play meaningful baseball in October has been all but eviscerated. Losers of 19 of their last 28 games, the Mets have fallen to 61-63, which is good for third place in the National League East and has them seven games behind the first-place Atlanta Braves.

The Braves are cruising of late, as they’ve won 16 of their last 18 and are seemingly running away with the division. To boot, Jacob deGrom, MLB’s best starting pitcher, may not take the hill again this season due to an elbow injury.

All realistic hope of the Mets making the playoffs (a roadmap to the playoffs in the NL East likely only materializes by winning the division) appears to be gone. That said, manager Luis Rojas’ team has one last glimmer of hope that can spark a September run. Such hope is Francisco Lindor and Javier Baez getting healthy.

New York Mets’ offense is in dire need of help

The Mets have quite possibly the most disappointing offense in the sport this season. They entered Monday 25th in MLB in batting average (.234), 26th in OPS (.691) and home runs (130) and 28th in runs (469) and hits (927).

Let’s keep in mind that the Mets entered the season with the likes of Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Francisco Lindor, Dominic Smith, Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, J.D. Davis and James McCann present. This was an elite offense on paper entering the season and one of the best in sport from 2019-20. On the contrary, it has been among the worst offenses in baseball this season.

They have an abundance of players who hit for power and average and field their positions well. Yet, here they are, serving as the element of the 2021 Mets that’s holding the team back.

The Mets desperately need help in the batter’s box. Whether it be players getting on base more or individuals getting runners in scoring position across home plate, they need consistency wherever they can get it. That’s where Lindor and Baez returning to the fieldlooms large.