Three months remain before the trade deadline for the Mets to prove they are contenders.

But what if they don’t?

What if these opening five-plus weeks are revelatory. Because after the Mets fell 11 games under .500 on Thursday, Carlos Mendoza said, “It’s not early anymore.” And it will get late even quicker without substantial improvements because:

1. Nothing makes a team look more listless and disinterested than an offense unable to constantly pressure opponents.