Cancel one of those reasons to keep watching the New York Mets as they stumble their way to the conclusion of another regrettable season. Johan Santana will not be making any major-league appearances over the final couple of weeks of the season.
The left-hander, working his way back from shoulder surgery, is expected to make one final minor-league start and then pitch in the Instructional League.
“If we get him through this Instructional League program, it might be time to let him go rest so we can get ready for next February,” said Mets manager Terry Collins.
If this is the best route the Mets feel they can take to get the two-time Cy Young Award winner ready for the 2012 season then, by all means, Mets fans should be on board with it. Somehow, though, it would have been comforting to see Santana pitch even a couple of innings at the big-league level over the next couple of weeks. At the very least, it might have given Mets’ fans a reason to pay attention.