Credit: Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The Mets returned home after a seven-game road trip (that, yes, included road games in New York), and Acting general manager Zack Scott gave a press conference updating the media on various topics surrounding the team.

Here are five things we learned about the Mets as the head into the last week before the All-Star break.

Carlos Carrasco Is Progressing Well

The last handful of updates surrounding Carlos Carrasco have been encouraging.

The righty was seen conducting pitcher’s fielding practice at Citi Field ahead of Monday’s game, and Scott said Carrasco will throw a live bullpen session by the end of the week. If all goes well with a couple of live BP sessions, Carrasco will follow them with a rehab assignment with the goal of joining the team before the end of July.

Luis Rojas said in a press conference before Scott that Carrasco has gelled really well with the team even while he’s been rehabbing. He’ll be an important piece of the rotation in the second half, hopefully alleviating some stress from Marcus Stroman and Taijuan Walker‘s innings loads.

J.D. Davis Could Be Back Real Soon

When asked by Anthony DiComo if J.D. Davis could return this weekend, Scott said it’s certainly possible that the third baseman could be back.

Davis has been out since May 3 with a left hand sprain. His rehab started and stopped a couple of times as his hand flared back up before the team seemingly fixed the issue. His latest rehab assignment started July 1, and he’s gone 2-for-9 in three games.

Scott said if Davis follows the progressions of previous players (Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil), the weekend series against the Pirates feels like a good time to bring him back.

The Mets Have A Couple of Options To Start Wednesday

The Mets have a big hole in their rotation Wednesday after Sunday’s doubleheader and David Peterson‘s injury.

Scott, along with Rojas, said Robert Stock and Nick Tropeano are the two options they’re weighing to start Wednesday’s series finale against the Brewers.

Both pitchers are on the 40-man roster and have been pitching for Triple-A Syracuse the last couple of weeks. Stock has started (six innings and two runs his last time out), and Tropeano hasn’t allowed a run in five relief innings since June 20. He’s pitched about every fifth day.

Rojas noted Stock as a “strong” option to start, likely because he can give the Mets four or five innings if he can get that far. The decision could come down to how much the bullpen is used on Monday and Tuesday with Tylor Megill and Jacob deGrom starting.

The Mets May Dip Their Toe In The Trade Market

With the team ravaged by injuries in May and June, the Mets largely held firm in the trade market, not making any big-ticket moves. With the trade deadline less than a month away and most of the injured players back with the team, Scott was asked about potentially trading for a big-name rental player (i.e. Kris Bryant or Max Scherzer).

He said “you need to be careful with rentals,” noting it’s hard for one rental player to make a huge impact. He reminded reporters that Major League Baseball is not like the NBA, where one big-name star can come in and completely transform a team. (You’re talking to a fan base that witnessed what Yoenis Cespedes did in 2015 on a rental deal, though, but Cespedes did end up signing long-term.) You have to weigh fit as well as the cost in prospects for those players you’ll likely only have for a few months.

While he’s “not opposed” to a rental player deal if the price is right, it certainly sounds like Scott would prefer making trades for someone who has control beyond 2021. He did agree, though, that a starting pitcher would make more sense than a position player if they were to make a move.

Scott and Luis Rojas Have A Good Relationship

Scott described the Mets’ manager as “very open-minded,” “even-keeled” and “such a good, genuine person” who Scott is able to have “open conversations” with. Those are all great qualities and re-affirm all the good things basically everyone’s said about Rojas as a person and manager as he came up through the ranks with the Mets.

He said all those qualities go a long way to Rojas improving as a manager and getting his players to actually listen to what he says.