Tom Martin breaks wrist

Tom Martin, a possible bullpen candidate, broke his wrist in a fall in his rented home on Thursday. Martin fell down the stairs at his home.

Ron Villone's signing becomes bigger and bigger with each passing day. First Duaner Sanchez gets cut, now Martin is out.

If you're competing for a Mets bullpen spot, I'd watch your back.

Santana to pitch tonight, on track for Opening Day

Johan Santana will make his first Grapefruit League appearance tonight against the Marlins. The game is at 7:10 p.m., under the lights at Tradition Field, and will be aired on SNY.

Santana, who has been struggling with elbow issues as he attempts to come back from knee surgery, will likely only pitch two innings in his first stint on the mound.

This is good news for any Mets fans, as we all have been watching the injury reports with bated breath. If the ace of the staff can walk off the mound confident with his arm and how he threw the baseball, I think there will be a collective sigh of relief from the Citi Faithful (That was weird to type!).

There is no doubt that he is the most important player to the Mets. His stats are not important tonight, only how he feels. I'm sure we'll hear a lot of whining if he gets rocked for three runs in two innings, but we must disregard that tonight.

If he feels good, I'll be happy.

Mets sign seven

Joel Sherman is reporting that the Mets have signed seven players, all for roughly the same amount of money.

• Daniel Murphy -- $401,000
• Nick Evans -- $403,000
• Robinson Cancel -- $408,000
• Jon Niese -- $400,000
• Bobby Parnell -- $400,000
• Connor Robertson -- $400,000
• Brian Stokes -- $409,500

Much better quote from Maine

On Thursday, John Maine was quoted as saying:

"I just don’t feel good out there," Maine said. "I’m trying to do something different mechanically every pitch. It’s not working. I just feel terrible out there."

I was, obviously, worried.

Yesterday, Maine pitched again, and had much, much better things to say:

"It is frustrating - just the results - but I felt good out there," Maine said. "I wasn't throwing the ball all over the place. If I was missing, I was barely missing. I threw the ball well. It could have just as easily been 0-0 as 5-0 and that happens. But I felt fine throwing."

We all can breathe a little easier.

Tony Bernazard shows interest in Pudge

Jim Baumbach is in Puerto Rico covering the World Baseball Classic, and stumbled upon a newspaper article in which Tony Bernazard, assistant general manager, claimed interest in free agent Pudge Rodriguez.

From Newsday:

Bernazard, who is attending the World Baseball Classic, told El Nuevo Dia, "Some of us wished we could have him with us, but the truth is that we have two catchers under contract."

With Brian Schneider and Ramon Castro set in the roster spots, the Mets have no need for Pudge. The team also has Robinson Cancel.

There were rumors (and still are) that the Mets are looking to dump Castro. If the Mets do manage to trade Castro away, they would be cutting a contract more than anything. There would be no reason they would add another catcher, for likely the same amount of money. It just doesn't make sense.

Pelfrey pleased with performance

Mike Pelfrey was sidelined with a strained muscle in his leg a few days ago. Today, as one of the only players in camp, he threw a bullpen session and declared himself ready to pitch.

From Adam Rubin:

Pelfrey said the discomfort, an "8" or "9" on the pain scale when he stepped back during his delivery and then landed immediately after suffering the injury, had reduced to a "1" or "2." After chatting with pitching coach Dan Warthen and trainer Ray Ramirez, Pelfrey declared himself ready to re-enter the Grapefruit League rotation on Saturday after missing one turn. He's on track to start Game 2 of the season, April 8 in Cincinnati.

Sounds good to me.

Pagan will go under the knife

Angel Pagan will opt for surgery on the bone spur in his right elbow, likely knocking him out for 6-8 weeks.

Not good news for Pagan, who had a definite shot at making the roster out of spring training.

It looks like the rest of the backup outfield candidates have one less person to contend with. For a quick review of who could be competing for the spot, check out my post over at Baseball Digest.

Upgrading the spectacles

Maybe there is a "One Bespectacled Relief Pitcher Limit." Someone check the rule book.

Mets release Duaner Sanchez

The New York Mets have released struggling reliever Duaner Sanchez.

A major hat tip has to go to Joel Sherman, who rumored this back on Feb. 26. He wrote:

Sanchez has something at stake, as well, namely a job with the Mets. He has to make a positive impression or else the Mets will seriously consider releasing him by 2 p.m. on April 1 and owing the righty just one-quarter of his $1,687,500 contract ($421,875).

And that is exactly what the Mets did.

Omar Minaya had this to say:

We looked at it, really his overall performance based upon last year to where he is now, we really didn't see the improvement that we felt was needed to be effective in the major leagues.

Pretty telling, if you ask me.

Sanchez was struggling through spring, and seemed to never recover from his taxi accident back in 2006. Sanchez came to the Mets from the Los Angeles Dodgers organization on Jan. 4, 2006 in a trade that sent Jae Weong Seo and Tim Hamulack out west and brought Sanchez and Steve Schmoll to the Mets.

Appearing in only 49 games in 2006, due to the accident, he posted a 2.60 ERA. You may remember his 18 scoreless innings to begin the season that year.

On July 30, Sanchez was in a taxi heading to a restaurant in Miami, when he was involved in a motor vehicle accident. Sanchez suffered a separated shoulder, and would miss the rest of the season. This forced Omar Minaya's hand, as he then dealt Xavier Nady to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Roberto Hernandez and Oliver Perez. (My father still claims this cost the Mets the championship.)

In 2007, attempting to come back from the shoulder injury and surgery, he injured himself again. At the end of spring training, he suffered a hairline fracture in his shoulder, which forced him out for all of the '07 season.

In 2008, Sanchez was healthy enough to pitch, but not very effectively. He had lost a lot of power off his fastball, and he just couldn't control at bats the way he used to. He ended up throwing just over 58 innings in 66 games, putting up a 4.32 ERA.

Though I think the Mets should have given him a little more time, it's obvious this was bound to happen eventually and they might as well cut him now and save some money. The Mets must now rely on some younger pitchers and possibly the Rule V draft picks to fill the vacated role.

Santana slated for Thursday; Pagan has bone spur

Johan Santana will make his much anticipated Grapefruit League start under the lights on Thursday. It is not known if he will start the game, but it is fairly likely.

Everybody, please keep your fingers crossed.

** *** **

Angel Pagan has been diagnosed with a bone spur on the back of his right elbow. He will return to spring training and figure out his next step from there.

From WebMD:

A bone spur (osteophyte) is a bony growth formed on normal bone. Most people think of something sharp when they think of a "spur," but a bone spur is just extra bone. It’s usually smooth, but it can cause wear and tear or pain if it presses or rubs on other bones or soft tissues such as ligaments, tendons, or nerves in the body. Common places for bone spurs include the spine, shoulders, hands, hips, knees, and feet.

Apparently, the elbow is not a common place for a bone spur.

As you might remember, John Maine had a bone spur in his shoulder, which required surgery last season. Obviously, Pagan isn't a pitcher and doesn't need to solely rely on his shoulder, but it could be something that he needs to go under the knife for.