Mets place Johan Santana on DL with ankle injury

Johan Santana is headed to the disabled list. (Getty Images)

The good news: It's not his shoulder. The bad news: Mets lefty Johan Santana is on the disabled list with an injured ankle.

Santana turned his ankle while covering first base on July 6 and attempted to pitch through the injury. However, given Santana's recent struggles, the Mets have opted to deactivate him. The ankle injury forced Santana to alter his mechanics, which, needless to say, is never a good thing for any hurler, let alone one with Santana's health history.

After his most recent rough outing, Santana's 2012 ERA stands at 3.98, which is worse than the NL average of 3.96. Including the start on July 6 in which he injured himself, he's given up 19 runs over his last 12.2 innings pitched, so perhaps time to heal is just what Santana needs.

As for who will replace Santana in the Mets' rotation, which was already thinned out by the loss of Dillon Gee, right-handed prospect Matt Harvey seems like a leading candidate. On that front, CBSSports.com Insider Jon Heyman reports that any decision on Harvey will be based on his readiness and not on Santana's injury.

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