Mejia sidelined with posterior cuff strain

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Omar Minaya announced Monday that there is no timetable for the return of Jenrry Mejia, who was diagnosed with a posterior cuff strain in his right shoulder. The timing of the injury could not have been worse.

With the Mets looking to explore a number of potential deals in the coming weeks, they now might be forced to do so without one of their biggest trade chips.

The decision to send Mejia to Double-A Binghamton on June 20 was supposed to help them on two fronts: Make Mejia, 20, more attractive to other clubs and also possibly provide depth for the Mets' rotation later in the season.

That strategy didn't survive two starts, as Mejia was pulled from Sunday's outing after throwing only 43 pitches in one-plus innings. The Mets were quick to emphasize that Mejia just needs rest after being examined Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery and he will "return to throwing as tolerated." But how long that will take is anybody's guess.

"My understanding is that hopefully it won't be long before he resumes throwing," Minaya said before the game against the Marlins. "I think based upon the information, it's going to be a precautionary thing. I don't want to give a timetable when he's throwing, but we are going to rest him and see how it does."

The handling of Mejia has been a hot-button topic for the Mets since the start of spring training, which is when Jerry Manuel first began hyping him as a Mariano Rivera-style reliever. But rather than give him regular work and a significant role, Manuel called on him sporadically in low-pressure situations.

Minaya was asked if the jump from little-used reliever to Double-A starter - on three days' rest, no less, after a 21/3-inning outing - contributed to his injury. But Minaya denied that was the case.

"No, not at all," he said. "My understanding is that he threw only 40 or 50 pitches his previous time, so it was nothing that he wasn't doing here."

As for how the injury to Mejia hurts the Mets' negotiating stance leading up to the July 31 non-waivers trade deadline, Minaya said he is not concerned.

"From Mejia to other players, we have some good prospects," Minaya said. "We're not about one good prospect only. And if we get into a situation that we feel we need to do, we will explore it, but it's not going to be about only one player."