Struggling Tommy Pham wondering about his Mets future: ‘We’ll see’

Tommy Pham started the day wondering about his future with the Mets then being booed after a first-inning strikeout, but his slow grounder to third in the sixth ended up being the RBI single that provided the winning run in Thursday’s 3-2 win over the Rays at Citi Field.

He’s still in the midst of a poor season and was in a 1-for-16 slide at the plate heading into Thursday, which helped explain why the Mets decided to pinch-hit for him with Daniel Vogelbach in Wednesday’s win, a day after the same thing happened on Tuesday.

Pham said he didn’t think that had ever happened to him in his career, but as he deals with what he called “sporadic” playing time, he also wondered if he had a future with the Mets.

“We’ll see,’’ Pham said before starting in left field, with Jeff McNeil in right for the injured Starling Marte. “We’ll see.”

Tommy Pham doesn’t seem to know how much longer he’ll be with the Mets.Robert Sabo for the NY Post

“There are 29 other teams in this game,’’ Pham said. “I’ve been traded three times [in my career]. One thing I’ve learned is if you keep being a pro and working hard, somebody else might want you. I’m just going about my business.”

But the 35-year-old acknowledged he hasn’t played well enough when on the field to complain much.

“I’ve got to play better to get more playing time,’’ Pham said. “This game is not friendly. People don’t really care if you go 0-for-4 with four balls hit 110 [mph] that get caught or if you hit four balls off the end of the bat and fall for hits. It’s better to have four go off the end of the bat for hits. Sometimes, it’s better to be lucky than good. I’ll take the luck right now.”

Mets outfielder Tommy Pham entered Thursday hitting .200 this season.Robert Sabo for the NY Post

To Pham’s point, which Buck Showalter has echoed, Pham’s average exit velocity is 93 mph, which matches his career-high, and he had several well-struck shots during the series in Washington that went for outs.

With runners on the corners and one out in the sixth Thursday, Pham hit a ground ball toward third that measured just 55.6 mph off the bat.

A charging Isaac Paredes had no chance and McNeil scored the go-ahead run.

Perhaps it gets Pham going, as he noted before the game his chase-rate and strikeout rate for the season are both down and his walk rate is up.

“If I just keep doing what I’m doing, over time the numbers will get better,’’ Pham said. “Right now, my at-bats are so sporadic, it makes it harder. I’ll just keep going through my routine and something has to change, right?”

Mark Vientos, who homered after being called up from Triple-A Syracuse on Wednesday, didn’t play Thursday, as Showalter used Brett Baty at third base.

“You can’t play two guys at third base, and Pete [Alonso] is good at first base,’’ Showalter said in explaining his thinking. “We knew when [Vientos] came up, there wasn’t gonna be room [in the lineup] every day, but he started well [Wednesday] night.”

Mark Vientos didn’t play Thursday as the Mets figure out their third-base logjam.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post

Showalter didn’t rule out starting Baty in left field at some point and added a potential lack of playing time was a consideration before Vientos got the call and replaced Luis Guillorme on the roster.

“It’s one of the things you think about,’’ Showalter said. “It’s a day-to-day thing.”

Jose Quintana and the Mets will know more about his immediate future Friday after he undergoes another scan to see how his surgically repaired rib has healed.

“I’m really excited to get good news,’’ Quintana said. “I’ve been feeling great. There’s no pain at all. I feel like I was never injured there.”

Quintana has been out all season since undergoing bone graft surgery in March.

The left-hander has already begun a throwing program, and if all goes well Friday, he hopes to be able to start throwing bullpen sessions soon.

Showalter said Quintana won’t need a full spring training-like rehab, with a potential return in July.

The rotation has underperformed this season, with Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer dealing with injuries and ineffectiveness.

Carlos Carrasco is scheduled to come off the IL and start on Friday, while Kodai Senga has been inconsistent and David Peterson a disappointment.

“I want to be out there to help,’’ Quintana said.