According to David Lennon of Newsday, Carlos Beltran is hurting again from the bone bruise below his right knee and he plans to get an MRI soon to find out the extent of the damage.
“I just want to make sure it’s not going to get worse,” Beltran told Newsday this afternoon. “If it can get worse, I want to take care of it.”
With Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado out indefinitely, the Mets can ill afford to lose Beltran, who along with David Wright is one of only two remaining members of the “core.” Still, Beltran was in pain during Friday’s 5-3 win over the Rays and it’s been a daily struggle.
“Yesterday it was bothering me,” Beltran said. “But at the same time, I’ve got to play the game. That’s the way I feel right now.”
Three weeks ago, Beltran received a cortisone shot that caused him to miss two games, but now that same pain has flared up again. He met with trainers to discuss the next course of action.
Obviously, the Mets can ill afford to lose Beltran for any significant stretch of time when they already have Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes out with injuries. It would also force Omar Minaya to make a move whether he likes it or not.
We have seen signs of Beltran trying to be careful with his knee in the past month and Lennon points to one game when Beltran practically jogged to first base on a potential double-play grounder. As a result, he was thrown out easily despite a bad throw by shortstop Jason Bartlett. If healthy, Beltran could have beaten it.
“That’s part of the problem. It hurts the most when he tries to decelerate from a full-on sprint. The worst thing is when I slow down,” Beltran said.
Jerry Manuel discussed the MRI after the game and said he wasn’t sure how big the issue was. Keep your fingers crossed because according to Beltran, if doctors tell him it can get worse by playing with the pain, then he will not play and get it taken care of.
It feels like the baseball gods really have it in for us.
