Pedro Martinez is likely less than a week from returning to the New York Mets. He will have one more minor league start over the weekend and if it goes good he will rejoin the Mets’ rotation next week. Martinez has started 4 games on his rehab assignment in A-ball and the Rookie League and he is 1-1 with a 4.00 ERA and a 1.11 WHIP. Martinez has worked 18 innings on rehab and he has allowed 16 hits, walked 4 batters and whiffed 17. The Mets will need him to be on top of his game in September so they can hold off the surging Philadelphia Phillies.

David Wright had a good first half with the bat but he’s absolutely on fire with the bat right now. Wright has played in 38 games in the 2nd half of the season for the Mets and he is 47 for 134 (.351 avg, 1.019 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 6 homers and 29 RBIs. The Mets need him to keep swinging the bat like he is right now so they can hold off the Braves and Phillies in the N.L. East. Wright has now played in 127 games this season and he is 144 for 466 (.309 avg, .921 OPS) with 84 runs scored, 22 homers, 80 RBIs and 26 stolen bases.

The Mets have acquired outfielder Luis Matos from the Pirates for future considerations. Matos will add depth to the Mets roster in September when he will likely get called up after rosters expand. Matos was not exactly tearing the cover off of the baseball when the Mets got him. In AAA this season Matos has played in 100 games and he is 89 for 349 (.255 avg, .679 OPS) with 46 runs scored, 3 homers, 30 RBIs and 9 stolen bases. Still, Matos is a major league player that’s probably bored playing in AAA. He has played in 508 major league games in his career and he is 410 for 1,605 (.255 avg, .687 OPS) with 212 runs scored, 30 homers, 140 RBIs and 72 stolen bases.Â

The Mets have acquired Jeff Conine from the Reds for minor leaguers Jose Castro and Sean Henry. This is the kind of move that teams make when they anticipate making a World Series run. Conine is a veteran with vast post-season experience. He played in 80 games this season for the Reds and he was 57 for 215 (.265 avg, .729 OPS) with 23 runs scored, 6 homers and 32 RBIs. He should definately help the Mets off of the bench the rest of the season. Sean Henry was the #23 rated prospect in the Mets minor league system according to Baseball America and Castro is a player on the rise so this is a move that Omar Minaya could regret down the road……unless the Mets win the World Series.

The Mets have placed catcher Ramon Castro on the 15-day disabled list with lower back pain. That’s a huge blow to both the Mets and Castro as he was going to get his big chance show the Mets what he could do with a lot of playing time. Castro has played in 45 games this season and he is 37 for 131 (.282 avg, .858 OPS) with 20 runs scored, 9 homers and 27 RBIs. The Mets will go with veterans Mike DiFelice and Sandy Alomar until either Paul LoDuca or Ramon Castro is ready to return. DiFelice has played in 7 games for the Mets this season and he is 6 for 26 (.231 avg, .661 OPS) with 1 run socred and 5 RBIs. Sandy Alomar has played in 4 games for the Mets this season and he is 2 for 10 (.200 avg) with 1 run scored.