So let’s say they don’t trade Lynn. They can still get a compensatory second-round pick for him if he turns down this winter’s qualifying offer. And keeping Lynn means 10 more starts from the Ole Miss alum who pitches more like a bulldog.

But keeping Lynn doesn’t boost the offense.

“People around here expect excellence, but there are going to be seasons like this,” second baseman Kolten Wong admitted. “You look in the clubhouse, there isn’t a single guy who isn’t trying to grind or find a way to win. It’s as frustrating for us — just as much or more — as it is everybody else.

“Our starting pitching has been everything for us, we all know that. We all tell them that and try to keep them up, because if they keep going, eventually we know we’re going to pick it up. It is what it is. We play in one of the toughest ballparks in all of baseball to hit in, and you’ve got to give to get sometimes, and we understand that.”

The natural instinct is to say, “Wait, the offense is dealing with some injuries.”

But then it hits you: Are you even that excited for 2017 versions of Stephen Piscotty and Dexter Fowler to return from the DL? Both men are clearly talented, but both men have underperformed this season.