BASEBALL / DAILY REPORT : AROUND THE MAJOR LEAGUES : Saberhagen Put on Disabled List

New York Met pitcher Bret Saberhagen will be put on the disabled list for the second time this season after a test showed a recurrence of the hand injury that sidelined him for two months.

Saberhagen, re-injured Saturday against the Chicago Cubs, underwent a magnetic resonance imaging test.

“It’s not as severe as the first time, but he will be placed on the DL retroactive to Sunday,” Met spokesman Jay Horwitz said.

Meanwhile, outfielders Howard Johnson (broken wrist) and Bobby Bonilla (broken rib) will not be allowed to practice for two weeks.

Now that he has led the Montreal Expos into the thick of the NL East race, Manager Felipe Alou is wondering about his future.

Though the Expos have blossomed under Alou, he said that the front office has made no move toward extending his contract, which runs through the end of this year.

“Buck Showalter got his extension last week from the (New York) Yankees,” Alou said. “I really don’t know what’s going on. It’s been made very clear that the front office wants to wait until the end of the season to talk about an extension.

“To me, there has to be no doubts in anybody’s mind. There has to be no clouds.”

Alou didn’t come out and say whether he wants to be back next season, although many players and fans have come to like him.

He was also elusive about whether he wants to manage the expansion Florida Marlins if the Expos don’t want him. Alou’s off-season home is in south Florida, and he has been mentioned as a candidate for the Marlins’ post because Florida General Manager Dave Dombrowski, who formerly ran the Expos, has hinted he would like someone with a Spanish background.