Not new, but slipped under the radar: Catcher Rob Johnson's demotion to Triple-A Buffalo was voided and he instead landed on the major league DL with a torn ligament in his left thumb. Johnson will not require surgery, but he is being prescribed six weeks off, which essentially makes the injury season-ending.

So if the Mets need 40-man roster spots freed for September call-ups, Johnson as well as Tim Byrdak and Johan Santana would be candidates to transfer from the 15-day DL to 60-day DL (where they would not count against the 40-man roster). Dillon Gee already is on the 60-day DL.

Collin McHugh's addition Thursday puts the Mets' 40-man roster at a full 40.

Johnson, incidentally, will remain under the Mets' control as an arbitration-eligible player this offseason assuming the Mets do not cut him loose.

• Terry Collins essentially said his insertion of Jordany Valdespin in the leadoff spot is just trying to shake things up. "Obviously we are doing anything we can to come up with to get this offense kick-started," the manager said. Of course, Valdespin has a .276 on-base percentage and has struck out 34 times in 156 at-bats. All but four of Tejada's previous starts this season had been in either the No. 1 or 2 slots in the order.

• Jeremy Hefner's paternity leave, which can be a maximum of three days, is due to expire after today's game. As a result, the Mets will need to make a roster move before Friday's series opener to free a 25-man roster spot.

• Collins reiterated he expects Jenrry Mejia to appear at some point as a starter with the Mets in September. With Triple-A Buffalo, Mejia has produced a 1.12 ERA as a starting pitcher and 5.48 ERA as a reliever this season. "He was most comfortable this year starting, and he's shown the results of that," Collins said.

• Santana is not expected to begin throwing until mid-January 2013. This past year, he started throwing six weeks earlier than normal, about Dec. 15, because he was rehabbing from shoulder surgery.