Mets third baseman David Wright made progress last month in his recovery from a shoulder impingement, but the latest update on the seven-time All-Star isn’t nearly as promising. The Mets have halted Wright’s throwing program, assistant general manager John Ricco said earlier this week (via Abbey Mastracco of NJ.com; h/t: MetsBlog). It’s unclear when Wright will resume throwing, but Mastracco notes that it’s unlikely to happen in the near future. For now, he’ll continue working with the Mets’ physical therapists.

This is the second time since February that the Mets have had to shut down Wright from throwing, and it’s yet another setback for a player who has barely seen the field over the past two-plus seasons. After combining to make just 75 appearances from 2015-16, a stretch in which back and neck issues sidelined him, Wright could once again be on track to miss the majority of a campaign. Notably, if the 34-year-old doesn’t return before the 60-game mark, the Mets will recoup 75 percent of his contract for as long as he’s out, per Mastracco. New York purchased an insurance policy on Wright back in 2015, thereby enabling the club to recoup a large portion of the money it owed him over his past couple injury-truncated seasons. Wright is on a $20MM salary this year and is due another $47MM over the next three seasons.

The lengthy absences of Wright and a slew of other injured Mets, including Noah Syndergaard, Yoenis Cespedes, Jeurys Familia, Steven Matz and Travis d’Arnaud, have contributed heavily to their 18-23 start. Unlike the previous two years, when the Mets earned postseason berths and several players filled in admirably for Wright, the team has gotten little from third base this season. The four-man contingent of T.J. Rivera, Wilmer Flores, Jose Reyes and Matt Reynolds entered Saturday with an unappealing .230/.292/.364 line in 345 plate appearances.