Jason Bay Lands On DL With Fractured Rib, Mets Recall Zach Lutz

The Mets have placed downtrodden outfielder Jason Bay on the 15-day disabled list with a "nondisplaced fracture of a rib on the left side" which was presumably incurred on this flop-tastic play during the first game of Monday's doubleheader against the Giants at Citi Field. Bay is hitting .240/.316/.460 this year, which is actually a lot better than I thought but still much worse than three-years-ago me thought he'd be hitting in 2012.

The Mets have recalled third baseman Zach Lutz from Triple-A Buffalo to take Bay's spot on the roster. Lutz is hitting .333/.425/.556 in 63 plate appearances with the Bisons with three home runs, ten walks, and twenty strikeouts. Lutz was an honorable mention on John Sickels's Top 20 Mets Prospects list before the season; Rob Castellano ranked Lutz #16 on his own preseason list here at Amazin' Avenue. At the time Rob had this to say:

While I more than most try to take players to task for poor health -- as the ability to stay on the field is indeed a skill -- 2011 was not his fault. Yes he missed time with a hamstring, but the errant foul ball that broke his finger in the dugout? The wild pitch that concussed him after he returned? The second wild pitch that concussed him just two weeks later? I can't penalize him for all that, especially since when he played he raked as usual, posting yet another .200+ ISO. It's going to be easy to forget about Lutz going forward and if you're concerned about the long-term effects of the concussions, that's completely fair. But if he's healthy, in my opinion he's an easy top ten prospect.