The Mets have clung tightly to the hope that Robinson Cano’s stardom will return. He is signed through 2023, so perhaps they have no other choice.

“He’s always going to be able to hit,” Manager Mickey Callaway said before batting practice Tuesday. “These Hall of Fame-type hitters, they don’t lose that ability to hit.”

Cano, an eight-time All-Star mired in his worst offensive season, may not reach Cooperstown — his failed test for performance-enhancing drugs last year will complicate his candidacy — but he might have had the best night of his 15-year career on Tuesday against the San Diego Padres.

Cano, 36, slugged three home runs and added a single, driving in all the Mets’ runs in their 5-2 victory at Citi Field. He had 37 previous games with at least four hits, but this was his first with three homers.