The New York Mets find themselves in a fairly desperate position as the season reaches a critical point. This was a team that was one of the favorites to dominate in the National League this season, but they are still 7 games below the .500 mark with August around the corner. Injuries have been a factor this season, and the Mets have gotten mixed results regarding Starling Marte and Tommy Pham.

Marte has been out with migraines, and the situation has not gotten any better in recent days. In addition to his injury situation, his partner is going to have a baby shortly, meaning he is not close to a return. On the other hand, Pham appears to have recovered from the groin problem that kept him out of the lineup. He is scheduled to start in Friday night's game against the Washington Nationals.

The Mets continue to play inconsistent baseball after splitting a 2-game series with the New York Yankees. They bring a 47-54 record into their series opener Thursday night against the Nationals, and they are in 4th place in the National League East, a whopping 17.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves.

It's not much better in the Wild Card race, as they are 7.5 games out of the last playoff spot, and they would have to climb over 5 teams in order to get there.

As a result, it's unlikely at best that they can make a legitimate playoff run, even if Tommy Pham returns at full strength and Starling Marte comes back shortly thereafter.