The best part of the Mets’ Steve Cohen era, you could say, has been the proper setting of expectations.

They’re not the scruffy underdogs anymore, even if there’s still room in a season for the charm of purple french-fry pitchblobs and Candelita bops.

They’re not leverage for star free agents, or not merely that, they’re a destination. Scott Boras, line 1.

They’re not content to finish in third place, even if this year’s wild-card push brought enough theater to make what came next — the boot-and-rally against the Brewers, the thumping of the Phillies — feel like a bonus.