New York Mets Saturday notes

Johan Santana did not participate in the teams workouts today at Tradition Field according to several reports on twitter through Mets beat writers. It is considered a minor issue which could slow his work down this spring. It is becoming more and more apparent though that he won’t be ready to go for the start of the season. 
Terry Collins told reporters that Santana needs extra treatment for his arm and is day-to-day. He has no discomfort but is still lacking strength and they are going to remain conservative with his preparation. Collins would not commit to Santana making his scheduled start this Thursday. He also noted it is possible Santana can start the season on the DL to give him an extra week to prepare.

Collins said he is hopeful that both Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Daniel Murphy can play be the end of the week. Nieuwenhuis left the game last week after bruising his knee and has not played since, he is 1-18 this spring and Murphy has not even played in a grapefruit league game yet after straining his intercostal muscle in mid February.

Zach Wheeler will pitch in a simulated game tomorrow in Port St. Lucie. He has not pitched since February 23^rd after straining his oblique last week taking batting practice. The Mets defeated the Astros 9-6 on Saturday and will take on the Cardinals on Sunday afternoon in Jupiter, Florida. Jeremy Hefner allowed one hit in three innings, Bobby Parnell pitched for the second day in a row and allowed an unearned run. Matt den Dekker went 0-3 but he did make a nice sliding catch in the outfield. Lucas Duda had three hits and two RBI and the Mets were 5-11 with runners in scoring position.

The Mets announced they reassigned three guys to minor league camp. Cory Mazzoni, Rafael Montero and Juan Centeno. Frank Francisco will throw his first bullpen session on Sunday. He is expected to start the season on the DL and Parnell will most likely be the closer in that case.