Carlos Beltran had been hoping to play through the bone bruise in his right knee, but instead joined the Mets’ crowded disabled list after undergoing an MRI exam Monday. General manager Omar Minaya indicated that the DL stint may last just two weeks, but there’s no official diagnosis yet. Beltran has been playing through various injuries all season, yet never slowed down while hitting .336/.425/.527.
Jeremy Reed started in Beltran’s place Monday night, but went 0-for-4 as his line dropped to .278/.307/.347 on the year, and the Mets could give an extended shot to Fernando Martinez after recalling him from Triple-A. Martinez has hit .291 with a strong .885 OPS in 44 games at Triple-A, but looked overmatched while going 12-for-62 (.194) with the Mets and the 20-year-old likely isn’t ready to thrive yet.
While the Mets close to 1.5 games in the NL East despite running out of healthy players, here are some other notes from around baseball ...
* Speaking of Mets on the shelf, Oliver Perez and John Maine rehabbed together at Single-A by each starting one game of a doubleheader Monday. Maine tossed six innings of one-run ball as he comes back from shoulder soreness, but Perez allowed six runs in three innings in his recovery from a knee injury. Neither looks ready to rejoin the rotation, but Maine could be back after one more rehab start.
* Having oddly decided to start him in 38 straight games fresh off hip surgery the Yankees have apparently now concluded that Alex Rodriguez needs rest. He sat out Friday and Saturday and the team announced Monday that he’s scheduled to receive one day off per week through the All-Star break. He’s a career .304 hitter who’s never batted under .285, so much is being made of his lowly .213 average.
However, with nine homers, six doubles, and 30 walks in 170 plate appearances his power and patience have been just fine and Rodriguez is actually striking out less often than he has in any season since 1998. He’s in a 9-for-59 (.153) slump this month and giving him regular days off should have always been in the plans, but much of his struggles can be traced to some singles not falling in. Be patient.
* Ervin Santana felt soreness in his forearm while throwing a bullpen session this weekend, so the Angels scratched him from his scheduled Tuesday start against the Rockies and put him on the disabled list. While clearly a setback, the move is retroactive to June 12 and would allow Santana to return from the DL as soon as this Friday. However, that seems unlikely given his ugly 7.47 ERA in six outings.
Note: As the first half comes to a close, we’re now offering a “Midseason Report” that includes all the outstanding content from our “Season Pass” product plus a ton of new articles, rankings, and projections tailored for the second half.
AL Quick Hits: Grady Sizemore (elbow) is planning to come off the disabled list Tuesday, but remains one setback from season-ending surgery ... Scott Kazmir (elbow) tossed six innings of one-run ball in a rehab outing Monday at Triple-A, striking out five and walking zero ... Angels general manager Tony Reagins said Monday that the team isn’t interested in Pedro Martinez ... Out since April with a partially torn elbow ligament, Xavier Nady is set to start a rehab stint Wednesday at Triple-A ... Akinori Iwamura tore his ACL last month, but is now hoping to play again this season after undergoing surgery Monday ... Josh Outman is expected to miss Wednesday’s start because of elbow soreness ... CC Sabathia (biceps) remains optimistic about not missing a start, but the Yankees won’t make a call until after his bullpen session Wednesday ... Asdrubal Cabrera (shoulder) began what’s slated to be a three-week rehab assignment Monday at Double-A.
NL Quick Hits: Out since last month, Joey Votto has reportedly joined the Reds in Toronto and is expected to be in the lineup Tuesday night ... Ryan Howard’s status remains unclear after being diagnosed with acute sinusitis ... Albert Pujols reportedly “called his shot” before blasting a game-breaking grand slam Sunday, which apparently surprised no one ... Alfonso Soriano is just 12-for-73 (.164) this month, so he got Monday off while the Cubs were shut out ... Manny Ramirez is expected to begin playing in minor-league games Tuesday in preparation for his July 3 return from suspension ... Yunel Escobar was scratched from Monday’s lineup with a strained hip, which is the same injury that sidelined him for a week last month ... Javier Vazquez worked around 11 base runners while throwing 6.2 shutout innings Monday ... Alex Gonzalez will miss 4-6 weeks following surgery Monday to remove bone chips from his elbow.
