Piazza Has Broken Bone in Left Hand

On the day Carlos Beltran returned to the lineup, the New York Mets got another bad break.

The Mets learned that catcher Mike Piazza would sit out an undetermined number of games because of a broken bone in his left hand. The injury happened when Piazza was hit by a foul tip during the Mets’ 6-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday.

Piazza caught one more inning before leaving because of the pain. He had X-rays taken Wednesday that revealed the injury.

The Mets made a move to avoid leaving Ramon Castro as the only catcher on the roster. Catcher Mike Jacobs was recalled from double-A Binghamton, where he was hitting .321 with 25 home runs and 92 runs batted in. Reliever Jose Santiago was designated for assignment.

The Mets hope Piazza can return after the swelling is reduced.

“As of right now, it’s a couple of days, but there is no specifics,” General Manager Omar Minaya said. “We know it’s swollen and we’re going to have to wait until the inflammation goes down. But we’ve been told a couple of days.”

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Detroit Tiger shortstop Carlos Guillen was put on the 15-day disabled list because of a sore right knee. Detroit recalled first baseman Carlos Pena from triple-A Toledo to fill the roster spot.