SAN DIEGO — Brian Giles feels Carlos Beltran should think twice about trying to come back this season.
Giles should know: The Padres’ veteran outfielder struggled thoughout 2007 with much the same injury as Beltran — bone bruises in the knee — before finally opting for microfracture surgery.
So when Giles heard Beltran was planning to return later this month after missing the past six weeks with bone bruises in his right knee that aren’t getting better, he offered some advice the Mets’ All-Star center fielder might not want to hear.
“I would let it calm down and be ready for next year, having gone through what I went through,” Giles said here yesterday before the Mets’ 5-1 win in the series finale against San Diego.
“There’s a lot of risk with this injury,” Giles added. “Especially with a young player like [the 32-year-old Beltran], it could affect him for a long period of time.”
Giles wasn’t suggesting Beltran opt for microfracture surgery, a relatively rare procedure for baseball players in which holes are drilled in the knee to develop scar tissue that replicates missing cartilage.
If Beltran does choose surgery, however, Giles has shown that a quick and successful comeback is possible.
Giles, 38, had microfracture just days after the 2007 season, then came back the following year to hit .306 in 147 games. Giles is on the disabled list with a bruised knee this season but is expected to return soon.
“I rehabbed my butt off,” he said, recalling the offseason after the surgery. “I’ve never worked so hard to get ready for a season.”
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Mike Pelfrey rejoins the Mets’ rotation tonight in Arizona after being away from the team since Thursday because of the birth of his first child, a son.
Pelfrey, who is facing left-hander Doug Davis, didn’t do any throwing during his absence. Manager Jerry Manuel, though, was unconcerned that Pelfrey would be rusty despite pitching on seven days’ rest.
Asked if Pelfrey basically could hop off the plane and pitch, Manuel said. “We do that all the time.”
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How do you know the Mets’ season is over?
Most of the players who had grown beards last month and vowed not to shave them until the Mets got back to .500 ended up shaving them after Saturday’s 3-1 loss.
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Manuel gave Gary Sheffield (right hamstring strain) another day off but said the slugger should be back in the lineup tonight against the Diamondbacks.
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John Maine, who had been shut down with continued soreness in his right shoulder, is scheduled to start playing catch again today in Port St. Lucie.