Mets: Jacob deGrom’s return not contingent on team’s playoff chances

The New York Mets’ season is quickly collapsing, as the team has lost eight of their last ten games and is 61-63 overall. Owner Steve Cohen recently, and publicly, complained about the hitters’ lack of production since the second half started. New York held the first place in the NL East until a couple of weeks ago, but the surging Braves took control of it.

Now, the Mets are a whopping seven games behind Atlanta and two games behind the Philadelphia Phillies. The season went south in a hurry for New York, but they are not mathematically dead yet.

One of the main reasons the Mets have been playing poorly is Jacob deGrom’s absence due to injury. The ace has been dealing with right elbow…