The dreaded intercostal injury strikes the Mets again. After missing yesterday's game against the Phillies, Lucas Duda was placed on the disabled list with a left intercostal strain. Zach Lutz will be called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to replace him.
Duda's injury marks the fourth time this season that a Mets player has suffered an intercostal injury, with the previous victims being Daniel Murphy, David Wright, and, just this week, Justin Turner.
Duda is hitting .235/.353/.438 on the season and had recently moved to first base in wake of Ike Davis's demotion to Las Vegas. There was some thought that the Mets would bring Davis back up if Duda went on the disabled list, but this did not turn out to be the case. According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the team wants Davis to get more work in the minors.
With the injury, it's unclear what the Mets will do at first base. The Mets could give Josh Satin starts at first, or they could turn back to playing Daniel Murphy there. Lutz, who was hitting .286/.372/.481 in Triple-A, had played some first base in the minors but 303 of his 361 career games have come at third base. Lutz is also right-handed, which means there isn't an obvious platoon situation for him and Satin.