NEW YORK — Jason Vargas was reading in front of his locker in a corner of the Mets clubhouse Sunday morning while Noah Syndergaard and Zack Wheeler were relaxing on opposite sides of the new pingpong table in the center of the room. Whether the three pitchers will be back when the team returns from a road trip Aug. 5 remains uncertain.

What does seem likely is Marcus Stroman will be in the rotation.

New York has given general manager Brodie Van Wagenen reason to push for success in 2019 rather than just reorient for the future.

An 8-7 win Sunday over the reeling Pittsburgh Pirates improved the Mets to 10-5 since the All-Star break, and they were close to completing a trade to acquire Stroman from Toronto for a pair of pitching prospects, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the trade had not been finalized.

At 50-55, the Mets have passed Cincinnati, Colorado, Pittsburgh and San Diego in the standings and with just over one-third of the season remaining are six games back for the two NL wild-card spots with six teams in front.

Michael Conforto sparked the offense with a two-run homer in a six-run first inning against Chris Archer, and Vargas (6-5) won a third straight start for the first time since last August. The Mets built an 8-3 lead and matched their longest winning streak this season at four games, completing a three-game sweep.

“I think we’re starting to put it all together,” Conforto said after reaching 20 homers for the third straight season. “The break was big for us. We got our legs back under us.”

Given a 6-0 lead, Vargas allowed three runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. The 36-year-old left-hander can become a free agent after the World Series unless his $8 million club option for 2020 is exercised. Wheeler can go free this fall but Syndergaard is far more valuable — he can’t become a free agent until after the 2021 season.

Pittsburgh was 2½ games off the NL Central lead at the break but has lost 14 of 16, including eight in a row. The Pirates are 46-59, the next-to-worst record in the NL.

“They’re fighting. We’re not winning, but we’re fighting,” manager Clint Hurdle said.