Jonathon Niese

It goes without saying that Carlos Beltran is a crucial part of the Mets lineup. Since his microfracture surgery in January, the question has been when he will return to the Mets. However, no one has been able to answer this.

The Mets moved Beltran to the 60 day disabled list today. This is more of a procedural move than a sign of anything else. The Mets needed to clear a space on their 40- man roster for the recently acquired Justin Turner. Beltran was put on the DL on March 26, so the move will not impact his return date.

A week-and-a-half ago, nobody thought that the Mets would be the team in first place when they went up against the Phillies this weekend, but it’s true. The Mets have been winning at a better pace than the Phillies lately despite the fact that it is the Phils who are generally regarded to have the better lineup and rotation.

So what chance do the Mets have of coming out of this series maintaining possession of first place?