While the New York Mets are in the midst of a playoff push, they have been doing so without their ace and the best pitcher in baseball, Jacob deGrom.

The ace of the staff for the Mets hasn't pitched since July 7, when he struck out 10 Milwaukee Brewers across 7 innings in a 4-3 victory for New York.

While deGrom remains optimistic about returning to the Mets this year, Virginia Zakas of The Athletic isn't so sure.

He is going to undergo an MRI in about 10 days to track his progress. If the scan is clean he will be cleared to resume throwing. But if it isn’t, he could be shut down for the season. deGrom would need 3-4 weeks to ramp back up if things look good and his pain has subsided. At this point I’m not concerned about needing Tommy John surgery, but if he tries to come back before his elbow and forearm are feeling good, he could risk causing damage to that UCL again.

Based off this report, it will be a tricky balance act for the Mets to complete. They are ready to compete and win now with how their roster is currently aligned. But there's no doubting that without deGrom in October come playoff time, they would be severely limited.

It's likely if deGrom's scan comes back clean that he will make a serious push to return for the stretch run for the Mets. The team could still choose to be more cautious and it will be intriguing to see who comes out on top in that battle.