The future is now. Steve Cohen’s Mets are coming into focus. Is there enough time to save the flickering embers of the Wilpon regime?

Seth Lugo is establishing himself not only as a starter for the 2021 Mets, but perhaps the No. 2 starter. Today and tomorrow.

On his 22nd birthday Friday — without an official announcement — Andres Gimenez was gifted the starting shortstop job for September 2020. Who knows where he takes a better, more refined game than Amed Rosario?

Lugo and Gimenez were the Mets’ best players Saturday night in a 5-1 victory over the Phillies that brought both the 2020 playoffs and the 2021 roster into sharper view. It is almost impossible to fall out of the NL postseason chase this season and, even at 18-22, the Mets are just outside the door.

They likely still need three weeks of .600-ish ball to have a shot at entry. But I bet the Dodgers are hoping they don’t find a way in. Because as good as the Dodgers are — and they are the best team in the majors by quite a bit — they would just soon avoid a best-of-three 1-vs.-8 matchup in which the Mets may be able to unleash Jacob deGrom and Lugo.

DeGrom’s Cy-ish credentials are established. And Lugo, in case you haven’t noticed, has been among the majors’ best pitchers since the outset of 2018 regardless of role — and he appears to be getting better.

Even battling some control issues early, Lugo struck out a career-high-tying eight in holding the Phillies to one run in five innings. The righty has now gone 27 straight appearances without surrendering more than one run in any of them. The last three have been in the rotation, where he has a 1.54 ERA.

His wide assortment of pitches always fit a starting profile more than relief and this is also where his heart has always been. The Mets need that now and moving forward, whether Cohen completes his purchase and is approved by the rest of the owners or not.

Brodie Van Wagenen has traded a lot of pitching prospect inventory in less than two years. Plus, Zack Wheeler is gone. Marcus Stroman is a free agent. Steven Matz has again pitched himself out of the rotation. And whether Noah Syndergaard can return effectively for his 2021 walk year after Tommy John surgery is a question. Right now the 2021 rotation is deGrom and … David Peterson? Another try by Matz? Finding more Rick Porcellos and Michael Wachas?

So Lugo is locking himself in. In the present, he lifted his pitch count to 81 and his fifth inning was his most efficient. He says his body is “really good so far” and he is ready to be unleashed as a full 100-pitch starter. Lugo allowed a Rhys Hoskins homer two batters into Saturday’s game, then no more runs as he ended the Mets’ streak at 19 games without getting a win from a starter. He was helped by a strong relief baton pass from Jeurys Familia to Justin Wilson to Miguel Castro to Edwin Diaz.

And he was really helped by Gimenez, who “had an unbelievable game” in the words of Luis Rojas. That is about the most defined words you get from Rojas, who may not even admit he is Luis Rojas. He tends to not commit publicly to plans, so he would not even say if Gimenez would start a third straight game Sunday. But he did say before the second start he was deploying Gimenez for a second straight game because he was “the hot hand.” Gimenez turned up the temperature even more.

On Saturday, Gimenez was 2-for-2 with an RBI single, sacrifice fly, walk, steal and two runs scored, including one when he scored from first on a double. He is 7-for-7 in steals. Rosario still has not learned to use his speed effectively — he is 0-for-1 trying to steal.

Rosario, Matz and Robert Gsellman stand out as the Mets’ most vulnerable to be non-tendered this offseason, even if Cohen’s billions show up to make financial decisions less pressing. The Mets probably would love to see if Rosario can handle center field after so much discussion on that subject. But now is no time for experimentation — or for playing a second-best option too often. And Rosario is not as good an all-around alternative as Gimenez.

“I am just trying to take advantage of every opportunity I get and fortunately that is what I have been able to do,” Gimenez said.

Like Lugo, Gimenez is making a case to be a prominent part of the Wilpons’ end game and Cohen’s future.