It still feels like summer in plenty of the country, but believe it or not, the baseball season is winding down. Still, with just over three weeks remaining in the regular season, there are unanswered questions for every club in the Majors. Here’s a look at one key query that each team in the National League East will try to answer before the season comes to an end.

Braves: Who will play the outfield in October?

One name, we know: Ronald Acuña Jr. will be there. He enters this weekend's series against the Nationals slumping of late, so it wouldn’t be the worst thing to get Acuna some rest once Atlanta clinches the division title. But aside from him? It’s an open question.

At full strength, the Braves’ outfield is deep and versatile: power from Acuna and Austin Riley, the steady table setting of Nick Markakis and a wealth of bench options, including ace defenders Ender Inciarte and Billy Hamilton and dangerous bats Matt Joyce and Adam Duvall. But only four of those players are currently options for manager Brian Snitker.

Riley and Markakis, theoretically the starting corner outfielders most nights, are both on the injured list. Duvall is still at Triple-A Gwinnett as that team begins a postseason run. The Braves will be monitoring the health of Riley and Markakis and the performance of the bench options as October approaches.

Marlins: Is José Ureña's future really in the bullpen?

Urena is an unusual pitcher. He throws extremely hard -- the ninth-hardest average fastball velocity in the NL this year (minimum 70 innings). But as a starter at least, he hasn’t missed bats -- he has the seventh-lowest strikeout rate in the league, with that same innings threshold. So why not see if he can be more effective out of the bullpen?

See if a couple more ticks on the fastball allow Urena to blow it by hitters more effectively. See if his offspeed offerings play up in a shorter stint. Urena has stalled out a bit as a starter, and he’s about to hit arbitration. It’s time to find out if there’s another, better path for him, and that starts with trying him out in the bullpen this month.

Mets: What exactly does New York have in Edwin Díaz?

Let’s start by pointing out an important fact: The Mets are not out of this race. Bigger gaps in the standings have been erased in much smaller time periods. But the odds are against them, and at least some facets of the brain trust are certainly thinking ahead to 2020 by now.

With that in mind, the Mets really need to determine what Diaz is to them at this point. It’s a hard question to answer. His strikeout and walk rates are a little worse than last year but right in line with his career marks. He’s been victimized by a shockingly high batting average on balls in play, but then again, he’s also given up a staggering 13 homers.

If New York can gain some confidence in Diaz, he becomes a piece to build around for a club that expects to contend next year. If he remains a mystery, the front office will at least need to consider trading him, even if it would mean taking 55 cents on the dollar for a player who cost full rack rate last offseason.

Nationals: Will Max Scherzer and Sean Doolittle be 100 percent by the postseason?

Yes, this could be seen as a bit presumptuous. The Nationals haven’t punched their ticket yet, but they’re three games clear of the Cubs for the top NL Wild Card spot and six up on the Phillies, who are Chicago's nearest challenger, so Washington's chances of playing postseason baseball are pretty good. If they make it into the tournament, it’s safe to say the Nationals will hit, and it’s safe to say their deep rotation will be a strength.

What’s a little less certain is just how good their best starter and best reliever will be. Scherzer seems to be getting closer to returning to form. In his third start back from the injured list, he lasted six innings, five of them excellent and one rocky. But he’s definitely not back to the form he was showing before he got hurt.

Doolittle is more uncertain. He’s fresher off the injured list and was scuffling mightily before he was shelved. If Washington's closer is right and pitching the ninth inning, the Nationals probably have enough relief pitching to get leads from their starters to their closer. If he’s a question mark, it greatly increases the degree of difficulty in Washington’s quest to win its first postseason series.

Phillies: Has the cavalry arrived, or is it at least on its way?

The Phillies added a lot of familiar names in the first couple of days of September roster expansion, and there may be more to come. The question is, did they just add bodies, or did the team actually get better?

Often the players who come up in September are tactical -- a third catcher, a third bullpen lefty, an extra center fielder or shortstop. But between callups and potential injury returns, it’s at least possible the Phils added some players who will legitimately help them.

Nick Williams appeared to have righted himself at Triple-A in August. Nick Pivetta struck out eight of the 15 batters he faced in his recent brief stint with Lehigh Valley. Then there are Roman Quinn, Edubray Ramos, and Juan Nicasio, all of whom could provide real boosts if they’re able to come back healthy before season’s end.

The Phillies will need the help, because their schedule down the stretch is brutal. The extra options could make a big difference.