Angel Pagan expected to return from disabled list Friday - MLB

The Mets are still missing David Wright and Ike Davis, but they’re about to get one of their regulars back in the starting lineup.

According to Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com, Mets manager Terry Collins said this afternoon that Angel Pagan will play one game with Triple-A Buffalo on Thursday before being activated from the disabled list for Friday’s series opener against the Phillies.

Pagan has been sidelined since April 21 with a strained left oblique. He was on the verge of returning earlier this month, but was shut down after feeling more pain in his side. He went 1-for-3 with an RBI double, two walks a run scored in a rehab game with High-A St. Lucie earlier this afternoon and is batting .263 (5-for-19) with one home run, one double and two RBI during his most recent rehab assignment.

The Mets moved Carlos Beltran to right field with the idea of using Pagan as their everyday center fielder, but the 29-year-old was batting just .159/.259/.246 with one home run and six RBI over his first 82 plate appearances prior to being placed on the disabled list. Pagan was one of the most valuable members of the team last year, so that probably buys him a bit of time to get back up to speed, but it will interesting to see if Terry Collins runs out of patience should he continue to struggle.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins needs surgery for a torn ACL after injuring his left knee Thursday fielding a grounder in a spring training game and is expected to miss a significant amount of time.

The Phillies did not say when Hoskins would have the surgery or exactly how long the slugging first baseman might be sidelined.

Hoskins hit 30 homers with 79 RBIs last season for the reigning National League champions.

He was backing up to play a chopper on Thursday when the ball popped out of his glove. Sooner after, he fell to the ground and began clutching his left knee. Teammates gathered around him before he was taken off of the field.

Hoskins, a free agent at the end of the season who turned 30 last week, hit six homers in Philadelphia’s playoff run last season. The Phillies lost to the Houston Astros in the World Series.

The injury was another blow for the Phillies, who will be without top pitching prospect Andrew Painter for another few weeks because of a sprained ligament in his right elbow. And slugger Bryce Harper isn’t expected back until around the All-Star break after undergoing Tommy John surgery in November.