Pagan put on DL; Pridie called up

The Mets wasted no time Friday in deciding to place Angel Pagan on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left oblique, an injury he suffered the previous night while fouling off a pitch in the fifth inning.

Pagan also had an oblique strain last season -- on the opposite side -- and missed six games as the Mets tried to wait out the injury and play shorthanded. GM Sandy Alderson wisely opted to take a more conservative route, even though Pagan believes this strain is not as severe.

"It's not as bad as last year," Pagan said. "But once you're on the DL, you still have to take 15 days."

Pagan was off to a terrible start this season, batting .159 (11-for-69) with one homer, six RBIs and nearly as many strikeouts (nine) as hits. To replace Pagan, the Mets called up Jason Pridie from Triple-A Buffalo and gave him the start in centerfield for Friday night's game against the Diamondbacks.

Pridie, 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikout Friday, was batting just .186 in 14 games for the Bisons, but Mets manager Terry Collins stressed the importance of his defense. He did not consider Carlos Beltran.

"I would not do that to him," Collins said. "One thing I don't want to do is take a guy of his caliber, and his credentials, and jack him around a little bit. I just don't think that's fair."

Reyes hurting

Jose Reyes put a scare in the Mets during the eighth inning Friday night when he appeared to hurt himself diving into third base. When Reyes hustled to third on a passed ball, his left pinky finger got spiked on the headfirst slide.

Trainer Ray Ramirez visited him to put a bandage on the finger, but afterward, Reyes showed off what could be a bigger problem -- a very swollen middle finger on the same hand. Reyes said it hurts every time he fields a ground ball and that it's difficult to grip the bat from the right side. Still, he doesn't anticipate missing any time. "Since I injured it,'' he said, "I'm hitting better."