Mets injury update: Daniel Murphy's return pushed back slightly

Daniel Murphy, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 5 with a strained left quad, was originally expected to return for the Milwaukee series on Tuesday. Now, the Mets will have to wait a few more days for, we can only hope, an offensive angel.

In what has been yet another up-and-down season, Murphy was hitting .283/.335/.414 before landing on the disabled list. He was beginning to show improvements leading up to his injury, but even a less-than-perfect Murphy certainly couldn't hurt the Mets.

Murphy also represents, hopefully, a more structured infield; the Mets have struggled to find a suitable configuration without David Wright. Murphy will likely man third base with Wilmer Flores at shortstop and Dilson Herrera at second base, leaving Ruben Tejada as backup. Eric Campbell will probably be sent back to Triple-A to make room on the 25-man roster for Murphy, although any of the struggling relief pitchers could also be sent down for some refinement.

Nothing is official yet, but Murphy will likely now play at least one minor league rehab game this week before joining the team at home for the Cincinnati Reds series on Friday.