NEW YORK -- Realistically, Noah Syndergaard is going nowhere prior to the July 31 Trade Deadline for multiple reasons. One may be the reality that at this point in Syndergaard’s career, no one is quite sure what he is.

In many ways, Syndergaard’s seven-inning performance in the Mets’ 7-2 loss to the Padres on Wednesday at Citi Field was emblematic of his season. At times he looked unhittable, striking out eight -- half of that during a six-batter stretch of perfection in the fifth and sixth innings. Other times he looked the opposite, allowing four runs -- three earned -- in the second and third.

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“There have been highs and lows,” Syndergaard said of his season as a whole, though he may as well have been talking about Wednesday’s game specifically. “Maybe more lows than highs. But I feel like I’m on the right track right now.”

All told, Syndergaard ceded eight hits and walked five; for the Padres, that was enough. Their own starter, Dinelson Lamet, held the Mets to two runs in four innings, giving way to a San Diego bullpen that did the rest. The Mets’ offensive output came mostly courtesy of Michael Conforto, who singled home a run in the first, then doubled and scored in the third. But by that time, the damage was done.

With Syndergaard, the conversation begins -- as it always has -- with pure stuff. Syndergaard’s repertoire ranks among the best in the game, featuring a fastball that averages nearly 98 mph, and a low-90s slider on which he has leaned heavily since the All-Star break.

“He's nasty,” Padres catcher Austin Hedges said. “Obviously, he's an outstanding pitcher.”

But he is not unhittable. When Syndergaard left a 99-mph fastball over the heart of the plate in the second inning -- shaking off catcher Tomas Nido twice before throwing it -- Hedges belted it into right field for a game-tying single. When Syndergaard elevated a 98-mph two-seamer an inning later, Franmil Reyes pulled it into left field for an RBI double.

“Three of the runs scored on counts that were in his favor, so he did the job of getting ahead,” manager Mickey Callaway said. “He just didn’t execute. It wasn’t as bad as the line.”

Doubtless, Syndergaard’s defense didn’t help. First baseman Dominic Smith committed two errors in left field, an unnatural position for him, and came up short in his attempt to snare Fernando Tatis Jr.'s RBI single -- Statcast catch probability: 99 percent -- off Jeurys Familia in the eighth. But Syndergaard exacerbated matters with his five walks, including a pair during the Padres’ decisive rally in the third.

The result wasn’t an unreasonably poor outing for Syndergaard, who stuck around long enough to give the Mets seven innings. But it also wasn’t enough to answer the most pressing questions about his season, which now includes a 7-5 record and a 4.33 ERA -- the latter number more than a full run higher than his previous career worst, back in his rookie season of 2015.

Consider all of it reason for the Mets to refrain from trading Syndergaard, who still has two more years of team control after this one. Selling now would be selling low, and the Mets are hardly in position to do that.

“It’s completely out of my control,” Syndergaard said, “so I’m not going to waste much energy thinking about those things.”

It is worth noting also that if the Mets trade Syndergaard, they’ll have no easy way to replace his innings. Assuming fellow trade candidates Zack Wheeler and Jason Vargas are both long gone by then, the Mets will enter the Hot Stove season with just three starters in their 2020 rotation. Syndergaard is one of those, along with Jacob deGrom and Steven Matz. The Mets can ill afford to lose any additional depth, considering how thin the starting pitching market figures to be this winter. 

So their best path back to contention may not be trading Syndergaard but unlocking his true potential -- whatever that may be.

“I haven’t really had much of a discussion with the front office as far as the future of me being a Met,” he said. “But as of right now, I’m more than happy with where I’m at right now, and I look forward to continuing to put on this jersey.”