Mets starting pitcher Oliver Perez on disabled list

Struggling Oliver Perez had provided a convenient end to his standoff with the Mets over his refusal to accept a minor-league assignment.

He said he was injured.

That surprising admission allowed the Mets to place Perez on the disabled list Saturday to make room for this afternoon's starting pitcher, Jonathan Niese, with the team saying Perez showed up Friday complaining of discomfort in his surgically repaired right knee.

The Mets said an MRI taken Friday revealed patella tendinitis. Perez had already left for Florida by the time reporters were allowed in the clubhouse Saturday afternoon.

"When I came in yesterday, I went in the trainer's room and did my normal rounds and I saw him in there," manager Jerry Manuel said. "I asked what's wrong. He said, 'My knee is bothering me.' I asked when did this start and he said after the three innings he had in San Diego. And that was that."

Perez is 0-3 this season in 11 games, including seven starts, with a 6.28 ERA. He was removed from the rotation after his May 14 start in Florida when he allowed seven runs and nine hits in 3 1/3 innings.

The Mets wanted to send Perez to the minors to work on his stuff, but he repeatedly refused those requests, as is his right as a major-league with more than five years of service time.

Considering the public standoff between team and pitcher over a minor-league assignment, Manuel understood there might be skepticism regarding this move. He insisted this was not manufactured by the team.

"This purely is Oliver Perez," Manuel said. "This is Oliver Perez coming in and saying his knee bothered him."