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We wrote recently with concern about the Mets injuries and how it might affect their NL East title hopes, but that story assumed guys like Carlos Beltran, Ryan Church and Jose Reyes wouldn’t be sidelined too long.
Well, Beltran is back playing, while Church is in extended spring training rehabbing his injury and could be activated as soon as Sunday.
But arguably the Mets’ most important player is Reyes, because he sets the tone as the leadoff hitter. And there’s where the Mets have a problem. While rehabbing his hamstring injury, Reyes had a setback this week. So doctors took another look at what was bothering him and found bad news: a small tear.
In typical team-speak, the Mets say this is actually good news because now they have targeted the problem. Reyes will rest for a few days and then resume treatment, but he might be out until July.
“It’s a small tear,” said Chris Leible, Reyes’ agent. “Hopefully that heals quickly. It’s not the hamstring. It’s the hamstring tendon.”
The Mets are now stuck at shortstop with Alex Cora and Wilson Valdez after also losing Ramon Martinez to the disabled list with a fractured left pinkie finger. Thus it’s possible that New York tries to acquire a shortstop like Omar Vizquel, who is riding the bench with the Rangers.
The bad news isn’t limited to Reyes. Set-up man J.J. Putz looks headed for surgery on his elbow. He has struggled through discomfort all season, compiling a 5.22 ERA and allowing seven earned runs in his last three appearances. Putz was shut down for two days in mid-May because of a bone spur and inflammation in the elbow and got a cortisone shot on May 14.
"Anytime I try to get out on my two-seamer and my split, it's like a sharp pain," he said to reporters. "I can't pitch like that."
Mets manager Jerry Manuel had demoted Putz recently to a seventh-inning role because he was struggling so much.
The Mets enter play Friday having just been swept by the Pirates and four games behind the streaking Philadelphia Phillies. They are in danger of being overtaken by a Braves team that just made a big move in getting Nate McLouth from Pittsburgh.
After this weekend’s series with the Nationals, New York faces a hellacious schedule with six games against the Yankees, six versus the Phillies and four with the Cardinals before the All-Star break. In fact, the Mets will have just four games against teams currently with a below-.500 record before the break.
With two All-Stars possibly out until the break playing against the Mets should be profitable.
