Hansel Robles threw two no-hit innings against the Washington Nationals yesterday afternoon. Before that, he had allowed at least two runs in four of his previous six appearances. Before that, he had allowed only one run in 14.2 innings. No word describes Robles better than “inconsistent,” an adjective you don’t want describing you if you’re a relief pitcher.

The 27-year-old made the league minimum salary this season, but as he is arbitration-eligible this offseason, his Mets future has become iffy to say the least.

Going into 2018, the Mets have Jeurys Familia, AJ Ramos, and Jerry Blevins anchoring the back end of the bullpen. Add Paul Sewald and Josh Smoker, and you have five trusted relievers. In addition to them, there are the slew of right-handed relievers acquired at and around the trade deadline this summer by Sandy Alderson.

There has also been a lot of talk about how the Mets will look to bolster their bullpen this offseason. Prominent free agent relievers include Jake McGee, Pat Neshek, Tony Watson, Seung-Hwan Oh, former Met Addison Reed and more.

In all this talk, there doesn’t seem to be much said about the volatile Hansel Robles. Many in the Mets organization have said they plan on competing in 2018. While Robles wouldn’t be terribly expensive, if this team wants to compete, having someone as inconsistent as him in the bullpen might not make much sense.

The Mets could non-tender him, meaning they wouldn’t offer him arbitration and he’d become a free agent. They could also offer him a contract then seek to trade him to a team whose pitching coach thinks they can work their magic on him. Or, the Mets can keep him and use him in low-leverage situations until, hopefully, he proves himself.

What makes this decision so difficult is days like yesterday, when he threw two hitless innings against a potent Nationals line-up. He will pitch brilliantly, then go through stretches like his previous six outings when he can’t help but give up runs.

There has been a vicious cycle: He will pitch well enough to be put into a high-leverage situation. He will be put in that high-leverage situation and fail miserably, moving down the depth chart. He will then pitch well enough to be trusted again, only to fail again.

Fixing the Mets bullpen is crucial if this team plans to compete. There are plenty of better albeit more expensive options out there, leaving Hansel’s future with the team murky to say the least.

Overall this season, Robles has pitched 53.0 innings with a 4.92 ERA and 4.76 FIP. He has struck out 59 and walked 28.