GM looks to be active at deadline

Hoping for pitchers to return from injury to bolster the rotation isn’t a great strategy for a Mets team with playoff aspirations, and acting general manager Zack Scott knows it.

Scott has waited long enough for Carlos Carrasco and Noah Syndergaard to know nothing is a given, and other injuries can occur — as evidenced by David Peterson’s recent oblique strain — before the July 30 trade deadline.

To that end, Scott is actively searching for help on the trade market, but also must balance the organization’s long-term outlook in regards to prospects.

Carrasco, who hasn’t appeared for the Mets this season after tearing his right hamstring in spring training, will return in late July or early August if his rehab progresses according to schedule. Syndergaard, who was shut down in late May in his rehab from Tommy John surgery and just began throwing again in the last week, could be a Sept. 1 return.

“I think at this point, given the timetables of those guys, you can’t make assumptions,” Scott said Monday before the Mets beat the Brewers 4-2 at Citi Field. “There is only one trade deadline. It’s not the way we used to have it with August waivers types of trades, so you really have to put your best foot forward as far as building up depth for the rest of the way. I go into it thinking, yeah, if you get those guys back it’s a bonus and if you have more guys we’ll figure it out.”

Jacob deGrom, Taijuan Walker and Marcus Stroman have given the Mets a rotation top three that can compete with any, but the back end of the rotation has become a work in progress. Rookie Tylor Megill gave up one run in five innings in his third major league start on Monday, a day after the team deployed Corey Oswalt. Another depth piece the Mets acquired last offseason, Joey Lucchesi, is finished for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

It’s still early enough in the trade season that Scott sees price tags as prohibitive.

“I’m having calls every day, the acquisition costs change as time goes on,” Scott said. “We haven’t seen a lot of action throughout the league, so I think that gives you a sense where the prices are at. I don’t think anything is imminent, but we’re trying to work toward something pretty much every day.”