NEW YORK -- Johan Santana and Jeff Francoeur are the latest Mets stars to be sidelined with injuries.
Santana was scratched Monday from his next scheduled start because of discomfort in his pitching elbow. Francoeur has a torn ligament in his left thumb, leaving New York without its right fielder and top hitter.
The setback involving Santana is particularly alarming for the fourth-place Mets, who are counting on the two-time Cy Young Award winner to lead their rotation for years to come.
"He has not been throwing between starts for quite awhile. I would say since before the All-Star break. He has been pitching with this problem, but not with the level of discomfort he has now," New York manager Jerry Manuel said Monday after his team's 6-2 loss to Philadelphia. "Now, it concerns him."
Francoeur told MLB.com that he spoke with Santana about the likelihood of surgery. He told the Web site Santana "can get it looked at now and be two months ahead by Spring Training," indicating a need for surgery in the immediate future.
Mike Pelfrey, Santana's fellow starter, added, "I don't think anyone expects good news."
Santana had been slated to pitch Tuesday night in Florida. Instead, the left-hander will be examined by Mets medical director Dr. David Altchek, and right-hander Nelson Figueroa will start against the Marlins.
"I hope to have some definitive word for you tomorrow," Manuel said
The Mets have 11 players on the disabled list, including David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, J.J. Putz and John Maine.
Santana is 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA in 25 starts during his second season with the Mets. He was acquired in a February 2008 trade with Minnesota.
Santana was unavailable for comment after Monday's game. New York catcher Brian Schneider said the pitcher's stuff hasn't been up to par lately.
"What I'm looking at is his location, which, like I said, hasn't been as sharp as it had been," Schneider said.
New York also learned Monday that Francoeur has a torn ligament in the thumb on his non-throwing hand. He is day to day, the club said, but is expected to miss at least a handful of games.
"The right thing now is to let the swelling go down. It's kind of big," Francoeur said. "I'm going to try to play through it to the end of the season. If I can rest it for two or three days and then play, I'm going to do it. You might say, 'Why bother? We only have 38 games left.' But I came here to play and I want to play."
The Mets have 11 players on the disabled list, including David Wright, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes, Carlos Delgado, J.J. Putz and John Maine.
Santana is 13-9 with a 3.13 ERA in 25 starts during his second season with the Mets. He was acquired in a February 2008 trade with Minnesota.
Santana was unavailable for comment after Monday's game. New York catcher Brian Schneider said the pitcher's stuff hasn't been up to par lately.
"What I'm looking at is his location, which, like I said, hasn't been as sharp as it had been," Schneider said.
https://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=4420095
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