In the event Johan Santana must start the year on the disabled list, the team is more likely to replace him with Jeremy Hefner than look to acquire a pitcher from outside the organization, a source told the Daily News.
'We are not even in that (starting pitching) market right now,' a second source said.
Santana is slightly behind schedule as he struggles to rebound from a relaxed off-season plan. He has only thrown from a mound twice since Feb. 19, and he has yet to pitch in a Grapefruit League game.
Matthew Cerrone, MetsBlog.com:
It sounds to me like Santana will almost certainly start the season on the disabled list, and ' at least through the first week or so of the season ' the team will go with a four-man rotation (thanks to off days) and bring Hefner to be a long-man and spot starter. I have no idea what happens after that. However, my guess is Zack Wheeler will start in Triple-A either way. A) He's dealing with this oblique strain, and B) The Mets aren't going to start his financial clock to have him fill in for Santana with one or two starts.
