The pitcher the Mets imagined was going to be their No. 1 postseason starter is trying to rediscover his best form in Triple-A. 

The pitcher the Mets envisioned starting October games behind Kodai Senga, Sean Manaea, is a pseudo-starter — half opener, half reliever, maybe more (or less). 

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This leaves the Mets running on two tracks as the season dwindles to what now has just three remaining series — get in the playoffs and, while doing that, complete the auditions to determine who will pitch and in what roles in a wild-card series. 

It is a bizarre place to be. The Mets know who they would like — all things lined up properly — to start Game 1 in Nolan McLean and finish when they need to seal a win in Edwin Díaz. Pretty much the order of everything else is “on the table,” in the words of Carlos Mendoza.