This story was excerpted from Anthony DiComo¡¯s Mets Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

There¡¯s no sugarcoating it: the Mets¡¯ rotation hasn¡¯t performed as expected so far this season. But that stands a fair chance of changing this week in Detroit.

Max Scherzer is slated to be reinstated from his suspension and start Wednesday against the Tigers. Justin Verlander will come off the injured list the following day and pitch the finale of that series. With those two becoming active members of the rotation again, this group will at least resemble the vision the front office had over the winter, when it allocated a record $128.6 million of its 2023 payroll on the starting five.

About two-thirds of that -- $86.6 million -- is going to Verlander and Scherzer, who have combined to win six Cy Young Awards, three World Series titles, a Rookie of the Year Award and an MVP. They are also 40 and 38 years old, respectively, leading many around baseball to question the wisdom of relying so heavily on them. But if Scherzer and Verlander can right the Mets¡¯ rotation, which currently ranks in the bottom third of the Majors in ERA, it will offer some important hints at this team¡¯s ability to achieve its goals.

What it won¡¯t be is a cure-all for New York¡¯s other rotation issues, which figure to linger well into this season. Notably, the Mets decided not to schedule Kodai Senga for his next start Monday, on what would have been regular rest, or Tuesday, on what would have been an extra day. Doing so would have forced the Mets to use Senga on four days¡¯ rest for his ensuing start, which appears to be a non-starter for them at this point in the season. (Senga, who spent his career in Japan pitching once per week, has yet to pitch an MLB game on regular rest.)

Next time out, Senga will pitch on eight days of rest, ensuring the Mets won¡¯t have to use him on regular rest soon. (Later this month, when the team has 13 consecutive days without an off day, David Peterson will be eligible to return from the Minors.)

¡°We¡¯re trying to get the rest people need,¡± manager Buck Showalter said. ¡°We looked at the weather in Detroit, which influenced a lot of the decisions, too. We looked at the off day following next Sunday, where we can get the rest that we need to keep everybody on the field. We tried to project where Carlos [Carrasco] is going to be back. There [are] a lot of factors here.¡±

Consider that issue at least a little concerning. And so, while there¡¯s plenty of reason to be optimistic about the returns of the Mets¡¯ twin aces, questions still abound:

? Can Scherzer stay healthy enough to guide the Mets back to the postseason?

? Will Verlander still be a Cy Young-caliber pitcher at age 40, after missing five weeks due to a muscle injury?

? Even given his cautious pitching schedule, how will Senga hold up in his first Major League campaign?

? What will?Jos¨¦ Quintana?(rib surgery) and Carrasco (bone spur in his elbow) provide when they return from injuries?

Many of these are similar questions to the ones the Mets faced when Spring Training began. A month-plus into the season, the team has yet to answer any of them in a meaningful way.

The returns of Scherzer and Verlander this week, at least, will give them a chance to do so.