Lucas Duda didn’t endear himself to Mets officials with his “sulking” after his demotion to the minor leagues last month, but the outfielder could return to the majors even before rosters expand on Sept. 1, a club source said yesterday.
After a dreadful initial stretch at Triple-A Buffalo, the 26-year-old entered last night’s play 8-for-21 (.381) with two homers and five RBIs in his last six games for the Bisons. He didn’t play last night.
Duda was optioned to Buffalo on July 24 after a 6-for-43 (.140) skid with the Mets. He initially did not take the demotion as well as the team had hoped (Duda believed he deserved the same leeway Ike Davis received earlier this season in battling his hitting slump, the source said), but has rebounded in the last week.
“He’s finally done sulking,” the source said.
The Mets would like to get Duda’s bat going and give him another shot in right field before this season concludes. Overall this year, he was batting .241 with 12 homers and 44 RBIs for the Mets.
* Johan Santana will be kept on a pitch count of about 90 today in his return to major league action. The left-hander will be making his first appearance for the Mets since going on the disabled list with a sprained right ankle on July 21.
The Mets will have to make a roster move to accommodate Santana. Though reliever Manny Acosta could be placed on waivers, the team could also send Jeremy Hefner to Triple-A. At issue is whether Hefner would be best served as an insurance policy for the Mets in the bullpen or starting every fifth day for Buffalo.
* Andres Torres batted leadoff and went 0-for-4 in the Mets’ 4-0 loss to the Braves. He could remain in that spot, at least against lefty starters. Manager Terry Collins said Ruben Tejada — who had batted leadoff recently — is ideally a No. 2 hitter. Tejada, who hit second last night, also went 0-for-4.
“I do think Ruben Tejada, eventually if you have that guy that can lead off, will be one of the really good two hitters in the game,” Collins said. “He can handle the bat, he does work the count, he doesn’t mind being strike one or strike two and letting the guy run ahead of him and still put the bat on the ball.”
* The Mets signed right-handed pitcher Drew Carpenter and assigned him to Double-A Binghamton. Carpenter pitched in six games as a reliever for the Blue Jays this season.