Mets receive positive Francisco Lindor update, but can the team remain in postseason contention?

New York Mets shortstop Francisco Lindor, the team leader in at-bats and a legit National League Most Valuable Player contender, had played every game of the campaign up until last Saturday. Talk about reliability.

Unfortunately, his lower back had other plans, forcing him to miss Saturday's game against the Philadelphia Phillies and leave the series finale in the second inning the following day.

We have good news though. Lindor should be back before the conclusion of the regular season. An MRI exam on his lower back Monday revealed no structural damage. Per the shortstop himself, the return could be in "3-5 days, or 2-3", depending on the status of his back.

He has been the heartbeat of the Mets turnaround this season, sitting third in RBI and first in fWAR within the NL, per FanGraphs.

The expectation is that he is going to have to deal with some pain upon his return, something Lindor has been familiar with from the last few weeks.

“The best-case scenario would be playing against the Nationals,” Lindor said prior to Monday's clash with Washington. “But I don’t know how realistic that is. We will see how I react [Tuesday] and if the trainers allow me to move. I am going to force their hands, but I respect their decision and the way they go about things.”

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If Lindor's timeline is right, he'll be back just in time for a brutal stretch leading into the postseason

You can only tread water for so long as a ball club. Especially without your most valuable asset. New York dodged a bullet with this one. With Lindor back in a few days, it's in prime position to fight until the end for just its third postseason appearance since the 2015 World Series defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Royals.

Without the captain of the infield, New York would likely fade out of the Wild Card picture. You need the nucleus. Lindor is that to the Mets. Just look at the road ahead. It's quite daunting. Per Tankathon, only the Colorado Rockies have a harder strength of schedule remaining in the campaign. Outside of the club's current opponent, the final three opponents are ones also with 80-plus win totals to date.

If Lindor does miss the entire Nats series, New York should still be able to at least take two out of three, especially with the way José Iglesias has swung the bat in the month of September (.340 average with 16 hits). Throw in the fact that the Mets are 6-0 since August 30 with its next two probable starters on the mound -- Tylor Megill and Jose Quintana.

Step one without the side's engine is done. The Mets found a way to scrap out a win against the Nationals on Monday, thanks to a walk-off line drive into left field off the bat of Starling Marte. In place of Lindor, Carlos Mendoza turned to Luisangel Acuña and the pop star himself Iglesias at short.

The LA Dodgers even lent the Mets a helping hand by decisively shutting out the Atlanta Braves 9-0. This convincing victory nudged the Mets into a one-game lead in the heated race for the coveted sixth playoff spot.