The next few weeks will be crucial for Mets' present and future

Mets people are hoping that Jacob deGrom will be back in the big leagues a few weeks ahead of the Aug. 2 trade deadline, giving them a chance to evaluate whether a pitcher who has not pitched in more than a year can make a meaningful contribution in 2022.

For that reason and a few others, the next few weeks will be determinative in setting a course for the Mets’ pitching strategy at the deadline. GM Billy Eppler and his staff are looking for innings, period, but if two of deGrom, Max Scherzer and Carlos Carrasco are healthy, the Mets won’t have to even consider giving up top prospects for frontline pitching.

Make no mistake, the Mets plan to be active in making moves to improve their roster. Owner Steve Cohen has spent enough money to make this an all-in season, and team brass sees no point in leaving the job halfway done.

In addition to pitching, the Mets are considering looking for a designated hitter, and they will continue trying to trade Dominic Smith (as previously reported, all sides agree that Smith would be best suited playing regularly for another team).

The need for late-inning bullpen help has long been clear to the front office. But Carrasco’s early exit from Wednesday’s game in Houston due to what the team called lower back tightness underscored a worsening problem for the Mets -- four quality starting pitchers (Tylor Megill being the other) are now in various states of disrepair.

The Mets know that if that remains the case, it simply won’t be their year. There is no point in trading a top prospect for, say, the Oakland Athletics' Frankie Montas if Montas is virtually alone among established starters in the rotation.

But that’s a doomsday scenario. Scherzer (oblique) is close to returning. Carrasco will undergo an MRI, but downplayed his issue after Wednesday’s game. Even Megill (shoulder strain) is a possibility to return this summer, the team believes.

Bigger questions surround deGrom, of course, given the length of his absence and extended list of maladies. But the team can win without him, if it has the others.

The trade deadline becomes trickier for Eppler if Scherzer and Carrasco cannot return to form. If that happens, the GM will have to decide if it’s worth staying all-in, and spending the little prospect capital that he has on a Montas or Luis Castillo, in addition to bolstering the bullpen. The Mets would far prefer lower-cost rotation depth to another big trade to address that area, after adding Chris Bassitt in the spring.

As such, Scherzer’s oblique and Carrasco’s back (and to a lesser extent Megill’s shoulder) will, over the next few weeks, have a significant impact on the Mets organization both this year and in the future. Their championship hopes and the future of their farm system hang in the balance.