The Mets (38-44) find themselves in third place, 10.5 games out of first place in the NL East and 9.5 games out of the second NL Wild Card spot on the morning of July 4th. On paper, the Mets still have a shot at the NL East title (2007 will always remain in infamy to Mets fans), but unless Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy, and Max Scherzer miss extended time with injuries, the crown appears to belong to the Nationals.
Injuries
The Mets have had to use 11 different starting pitchers so far this season due to injuries. As of today, the Mets have 10 men on their disabled list (Conforto, Milone, Familia, Gsellman, Lagares, Harvey, Smoker, Walker, Syndergaard, Wright) which has put the team through a rough stretch in the past month and a half. The Mets desperately need Syndergaard, a dramatic improvement over a shaky Rafael Montero (1-5, 5.63 ERA) to come back to pitch every fifth day.
Bullpen
The reoccurring theme preventing the Mets from taking the extra leap every year has been their ineffective bullpen. The only relievers with an ERA under 3.50 on the team are Jerry Blevins, Erik Goeddel (4 1/3 IP) and Addison Reed. Yikes.
Reasons for Hope
The Mets' lone All-Star, Michael Conforto, has 14 HR and is slashing .285/.405/.548. While that line is pretty pedestrian, he's been fairly consistent, as is Jay Bruce, who's .257 batting average and 20 HR shows that last season's struggles as a Met were a fluke. Jacob deGrom, the team's only starting pitcher to not miss time on the DL is 5th in the NL in strikeouts with 125, and Steven Matz, since coming off the DL, has a 17 inning scoreless streak.
It's no surprise that Mets pitchers have the second-worst ERA in the National League given the amount of injuries and the current state of the bullpen. If the Mets want to make the playoffs for a third straight year, their health and bullpen must take a major overhaul. Unfortunately, there appear to be more holes than there are plugs.