J.J. Putz to have surgery...

Finally, J.J. Putz admitted that he was pitching injured and could no longer continue. Putz had been completely ineffective, he was unable to throw his off-speed pitches without pain and his fastball had lost velocity.

Putz will have surgery to remove a bone spur in the elbow and it's believed, that it will take 8-10 weeks for him to recover. At least the Mets now know what was truly wrong and can address the problem, hopefully; the team will still be in the race and he will be a nice pick-up down the stretch.

Players on the DL can't be traded, so even if a team wanted him as their closer in Sept. and Omar was willing to package him in the right deal, that's now out of the question.

I know many will want Putz rushed out of town, but I think this makes it's essential for them to pick-up his option. A few months of ineffective pitching isn't worth the pieces the Mets gave up for him, they either need to get a full year out of him or flip him in a trade in the off-season.

Who will replace him on the roster ?

The Mets best AAA reliever has been Elmer Dessens, the journeyman pitcher has made 20 appearances with a record of 3-1, seven saves, ERA 1.29 and 0.86 WHIP. If they decide to showcase Eddie Kunz he has started to rebound with an ERA of 3.13, but he's still getting beat-up by lefties. Or the Mets could bring up Figgy for the third time, as a longman in case Redding gets shelled again.

J.J. Putz will have surgery Tuesday to address the bone spur in his right elbow, although it's not considered a season-ending injury, sources confirmed to the Daily News. Putz signaled Thursday after pitching in Pittsburgh in pain that he could not continue without getting the matter addressed. source Daily News