Carlos Beltran Set to Return to Mets Order

Carlos Beltran will finally make his 2010 season debut, when the Mets resume baseball activities on Thursday in San Francisco.

Beltran who has been out since mid-January with resconstructive knee surgery is ready to rock and roll in the middle of the Mets order. Beltran batted .367 with no homers and five RBI in Port St. Lucie.

His return will be boon for the Mets, who have watched Jeff Franceour and Jason Bay struggle in the middle of the Mets batting order. The Mets are lucky that Ike Davis has been such a revelation as the cleanup hitter for this team, or they would be in big trouble right now.

Beltran returns to little fan-fare amongst Met fans, who want to see rising star Angel Pagan play more often. They may get their wish. While Beltran will play center field, a position that he is being paid $119 million to play, Pagan will platoon with Bay and Franceour.

Jerry Manuel has confrimed that Franceour will be the one to sit out ... i.e. he is sitting because he is making less money than Bay, who was paid $68 million in the off-season to be a major bust in left field.

Last season, Beltran got off to a red hot start, hitting around .340 with 10 homers and 40 RBI. Then the injuries to his knee hit and his season was runined last summer. It will be interesting to see how fast Beltran recovers and returns to his old form.