Mets OF Jason Bay to hit disabled list

Just days before the start of the 2011 regular season, Mets left fielder Jason Bay is already heading back to the disabled list.

Bay who suffered a terrible concussion last summer that caused him to miss the rest of the second half of 2010, will begin the year on the 15-day DL with rib cage discomfort.

The Mets report that Bay will be examined closely over the next 48 hours, whereupon the Mets will make a decision by Thursday whether to DL him.

The Mets already have a problem in the outfield with a lot of uncertainty over the health of Carlos Beltran who is moving to right field this season. Beltran missed most of spring training with knee tendonitis.

Who will start in left? Lucas Duda or Scott Hairston will likely seem time in left over the next week or two. The Mets could retrograde the injury to include this week, so Bay can return by April 8, when the Mets return home to play the Washington Nationals.