Another step back for Carlos Carrasco, who is shut down for a week by the Mets

The Mets have once again stepped back on Carlos Carrasco’s rehabilitation, this time shutting down the righthander for about a week after he reached a "plateau" that required a platelet-rich plasma injection, acting general manager Zack Scott said.

Carrasco initially was slated to throw bullpen sessions last week, but that was later downgraded to throwing off the slope of the mound, and finally, a complete stoppage after his right hamstring, which he tore in spring training, wasn’t reaching the appropriate strength markers to keep going, Scott said. He previously was scheduled to return in late June or early July, but the former isn’t viable, and the latter seems unlikely. Scott said a July return is still possible, though it might happen later in the month. Carrasco received the injection about 48 hours before Scott’s news conference with reporters Friday.

"We’re not getting the strength gains that we were hoping for," Scott said. "Everyone’s progress is at a different pace and . . . here’s certain markers you want to hit before you ramp up a throwing program and he wasn’t hitting those as quickly as we’d like to, so we decided to take a step back, do the injection and see if that helps in terms of generating muscle strength and improving."

The situation is exacerbated by other factors: Noah Syndergaard, who is weeks away from throwing, is not being expected back until after the trade deadline; mediocre-to-bad pitching from the bottom of the rotation; and the schedule, which has the Mets playing 33 games in 31 days, including three doubleheaders in one week.

On Friday, the Mets got some depth in the way of the waiver wire, claiming West Islip native Nick Tropeano from the Giants. The former Stony Brook star was sent to Triple-A Syracuse but is very much an option in the coming days and weeks. Scott will also continue looking for trade possibilities ahead of the July 31 deadline, though good deals are hard to come by this early in the season.

"It’s obviously going to influence what we’re looking at," he said. The slow recoveries "definitely contribute to how we’re thinking about it. And we’ll have more information as time goes. As you guys know, the market doesn’t really pick up until you get closer and, as you know, the buy-it-now prices are typically very high, and I understand why. We have some time unless opportunities present themselves."

Guillorme activated

The Mets reinstated Luis Guillorme from the 10-day injured list and optioned infielder Travis Blankenhorn to Triple-A Syracuse. Guillorme (oblique) had been on the IL since late April. He’ll mostly be used at second base, manager Luis Rojas said. "He can get on base [and] he’s a good pinch hitter . . . If we can keep hitting our share of homers, having a guy that can get on base, that’s valuable. You need those two-run homers, three-run homers with guys that can get on base like Guillorme."

Injury roundup

Jeff McNeil (hamstring) will start his rehab assignment this weekend and could be activated next weekend, Scott said. Michael Conforto (hamstring) is about a week behind McNeil . . . J.D. Davis (left hand sprain) received another injection and is feeling no pain, Scott said. He’s going to begin swinging soon and, if all goes well, he could be reactivated later this month.

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.