Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

If the Mets want to have any shot at making the playoffs this season, they’ll need to pile up a lengthy winning streak, and rather quickly.

Thankfully, three of their best players are close to returning to the active roster. If Jacob deGrom, Brandon Nimmo, and/or Noah Syndergaard return for the Mets over these last three weeks of the season, the team’s playoff chances will improve.

But for now, it’s just good to see each player making positive strides toward a return, whether or not they ultimately all play again in 2021.

On Tuesday, Jacob deGrom threw 10 pitches off a mound, which was his first work in the bullpen since being shutdown in July. The session was “light” according to Anthony DiComo, as the Mets continue be cautious with deGrom. He has not pitched in a game for the Mets since July 7, and subsequently was placed on the injured list with right forearm tightness.

Earlier this month, Sandy Alderson said that the initial injury was a partially torn UCL. Concerning news at first, the worries were short-lived as Alderson went on to emphasize that the elbow has since healed on its own.

While deGrom has been out for over two months, outfielder Brandon Nimmo has been on the injured week for less than two weeks. After leaving the Mets’ September 4 game in Washington with a strained right hamstring, Nimmo is already targeting a Friday return for the series opener against the Phillies.

As Nimmo gets ready to return to the Mets lineup, he is scheduled to face Noah Syndergaard in live batting practice on Wednesday.

Syndergaard, who has not pitched for the Mets since 2019 after undergoing Tommy John Surgery in 2020, is another pitcher the Mets hope will return later this month. He last pitched a rehab start on August 26, when the right-handed pitcher threw one inning for the Brooklyn Cyclones, allowing one run (a solo home run) and striking out a batter.

With a healthy Nimmo back at the top of the lineup and aces deGrom and Syndergaard possibly leading the rotation again, the Mets will need all they can get out of these three players as the season enters its last stretch.