SAN FRANCISCO — If the Mets see Ike Davis hanging around Citi Field later this week, it will be a good sign.
The injured first baseman could be on the verge of beginning baseball activities, according to general manager Sandy Alderson, after Davis ran on flat ground Saturday in Arizona without discomfort in his left ankle.
“What I’m hoping is we can get him in to New York after the All-Star break, in the next four or five days to reassess him,” Alderson said before the Mets’ 4-2 loss to the Giants last night. “If he’s close to beginning baseball activity, we’ll get him in [to New York].”
Davis, who has sat out the last two months with a bone bruise, largely will be responsible for determining if he’s ready to begin baseball activities.
“It’s a question of how he’s feeling and whether he can tolerate running,” Alderson said. “Based on what we’ve seen the last few days, we’ve been encouraged.”
*
Alderson said no decision has been reached on when Johan Santana will begin his spring training. The lefty may begin throwing batting practice this week, having completed three straight bullpen sessions without a setback in his surgically repaired left shoulder.
Santana wouldn’t rejoin the Mets before mid-August, at the earliest.
*
The Mets should have a better idea today if David Wright will begin minor league rehab games on Wednesday. Wright, who is recovering from a stress fracture in his back, is scheduled to run bases today. . . . Manager Terry Collins‘ rotation following the All-Star break: R.A. Dickey, Jon Niese and Mike Pelfrey in succession to face the Phillies beginning Friday; Chris Capuano to face the Marlins next Monday in a makeup game; and Dillon Gee to open a series against the Cardinals on July 19.
*
Jason Isringhausen has told Alderson his preference is to remain with the Mets and not be dealt before the trading deadline. But the veteran reliever was irate about a headline suggesting he had pleaded with the GM not to trade him.
“I never [bleeping] said one thing about, ‘Please don’t trade me,’ ” Isringhausen said. “Yeah, I talked to Sandy, but I never once said, ‘Please don’t trade me.’ I said I’d like to stay here. I’d never plead with anyone about staying anywhere.”
*
This marks the second straight year the Mets (46-45) reached the All-Star break with a winning record. They were 48-40 at the break last year, but saw their season head into a freefall with a 2-9 road trip through San Francisco, Arizona and Los Angeles immediately after the All-Star Game. The Mets were 42-45 at the break in 2009.