The Mets place Carlos Beltran on the disabled list due to his right knee:

The All-Star center fielder was placed on the 15-day DL on Monday because of a bone bruise on his right knee — the same injury that sidelined him for a couple of games in late May. An MRI exam Monday showed the bruise has gotten worse.

Beltran could be out longer than 15 days, too. Asked if the Mets might wait until after the All-Star break to activate him, general manager Omar Minaya said that was something the team would have to consider.

The Mets offense is based around four stars, Wright, Beltran, Delgado and Reyes. A deep team might be able to sustain an injury to two of them, but three makes it very tough. They not only lose one of the best hitters in the NL with this injury, they lose one of the better defenders. The Mets go from a team strong up the middle to a weaker one.