Lost in Tuesday's jumble of activity was the preliminary announcement of this years' Arizona Fall League rosters. Last season, if you recall, Daniel Murphy was one of the big stories in Arizona, playing second base before a hamstring strain cut his fall season short. It's a great showcase for big league prospects (See: Hanson, Tommy) to strut their stuff and make a greater name for themselves.

Two Mets prospects have been confirmed for this year's Fall League: first baseman Ike Davis, the team's first-round pick in 2008, and Ruben Tejada, a slick-fielding shortstop whom Baseball America named the organization's top defensive infielder last winter.

The 18th annual Arizona Fall League season begins on October 13 and runs through Nov. 19 with the Rising Stars game on Nov. 7 and the Championship game set for Nov. 21. Every game can be followed live on Gameday on MLB.com and MLBFallBall.com.

--Anthony DiComo

A few positive notes out of Mets land today, on the day the team is celebrating one of the most positive years in its history:

• David Wright (right) says he's still on track to rejoin the active roster when he's eligible to come off the disabled list, on Sept. 1 in Denver. Wright has been participating in aerobic exercise and should resume baseball activities within the next day or two.
• J.J. Putz threw a 19-pitch bullpen session at Citi Field and reported no ill effects. He's due to begin a rehab assignment Tuesday with Class A Brooklyn. From there, he'll move on to Double-A Binghamton, before also joining the Mets -- he hopes -- in Denver.
• Despite the speculation surrounding Billy Wagner, Mets manager Jerry Manuel won't shy away from using him tonight against the Phillies. Saturday is Wagner's day to pitch, and if the situation arises, he will do so. Unless the Mets and Red Sox work out a deal, Wagner remains Mets property.

Nice ceremony at Citi Field honoring the 1969 Mets. Marty Noble has your coverage on that front on Mets.com. You others can follow me on Twitter @AnthonyDiComo.

--Anthony DiComo

Sincerest apologies for the lack of updates. I've been spending most of my days covering That Other New York Team, and I just haven't gotten out to Citi Field much this month.

Today, though, I'm covering the Mets, and frankly there's a lot to cover. First, we learn that a team has claimed Billy Wagner, and then FoxSports.com reveals that it's the Red Sox. Even if they can't work out a deal between now and Tuesday, the Mets have a lot of incentive just to let Wagner go and take roughly $3.7 million off the books ($2.7 million for the remainder of this season, plus another million for the buyout of his $8 million albatross of an option). Wagner sure did look sharp last night, but he's not going to take them on some magical trip to the playoffs. He's just not.

Neither is Gary Sheffield -- but because the Mets owe him a lot less, they decided to let him stick around when another team recently claimed him. Sheffield cleared the air on some of yesterday's he-said she-said before the game Friday, saying he just wanted to know what his future with the club was. He didn't get an answer, and neither did we. But Sheffield was back in the lineup Friday with what he referred to as better frame of mind.

Then there's Pedro -- remember him? Sporting a blue-striped polo, Martinez rolled in late and spoke about how he wanted to play for the Mets all winter, but they just wouldn't offer him a contract. He's happy not that he's with the Phillies, a team with a fine chance to reach the World Series for the second straight season. But he does miss the Mets, even calling the old park "my beloved Shea." Now that's saying something.

--Anthony DiComo

Just wanted to pass along two statements the Mets sent out on Jose Reyes, who flew up to New York yesterday after feeling pain in his hamstring, and Jonathon Niese, who left today's game after injuring his own hamstring.

First, on Reyes:

"Jose Reyes was seen today by Mets Team Physician Dr. Struan Coleman at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

The MRI showed significant scar tissue and inflammation behind the right knee, related to the hamstring tendon injury, which has caused continued pain. Reyes will remain in New York for manual physical therapy in an effort to break up the scar tissue and reduce the inflammation."

And on Niese:

"Jonathon Niese has been admitted to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.  An MRI this afternoon revealed a complete tear of the right upper hamstring tendon from the bone.   He will undergo surgery for its repair. Niese is out for the remainder of the season and is expected to be ready for Spring Training."

Um, ouch. You've got to feel bad for Niese, and it seems more and more certain that we won't be seeing Reyes again this year, either.

--Anthony DiComo

Now that it's August, daily doses of (somewhat) encouraging news are starting to filter in about as often as the streams of ominous news did from May through July. Sunday, it was J.J. Putz, who threw a 25-pitch bullpen session at Citi Field and came away feeling no pain.

"No pain at all," Putz said. "Zero."

The session, which according to Putz's count included 20 fastballs and five splitters, also had an impact on Mets manager Jerry Manuel.

"He looked good," Manuel said. "I was very impressed with what I saw today from him. Now, what his timetable is, I really don't know. But it looked to me like he was free and easy."

Putz will rest Monday and Tuesday, then will throw a more advanced bullpen session Wednesday -- a set of 20 pitches, followed by a three-minute break and a set of 10 to 15 more. It's all part of a regimen that Putz -- who has been on the disabled list since surgery to remove a bone spur from his right elbow in early June -- hopes will allow him to return within the next three weeks.

"I just want to be back in August," Putz said. "I don't want to wait until September. Sometime in August will be great."

Sheffield back, but benched: Gary Sheffield was none too pleased about returning from the disabled list Sunday and promptly finding a seat on the bench. But he's also become rather adept at biting his tongue and accepting his situation, just as he did when he landed on the DL in the first place last month.

"Every day they come with something new or some kind of running program, and I go out and do it," Sheffield said. "I took fly balls, so I felt like I'm passing. When I went in and talked to the trainer they asked me if I was playing today. I was thinking I was playing."

Wagner's schedule set: Billy Wagner is set to pitch another inning Monday. If all goes, well, he will take Tuesday and Wednesday off, then throw once more Thursday.

Tweet, Tweet, Tweet: Just a reminder that you can receive real-time Mets updates on Twitter @anthonydicomo.

--Anthony DiComo

What if I told you back on June 22, the day that Carlos Beltran went on the disabled list, that of all the injured Mets at the time -- Beltran and Jose Reyes and Carlos Delgado and John Maine and J.J. Putz -- that Billy Wagner would be the first one back? (For the sake of argument, we're not going to count Ineffective Ollie right now).

Wagner's perfect inning of relief for Class A St. Lucie last night was the remarkable latest step in the comeback trail from Tommy John surgery -- a procedure he underwent barely 10 months ago. Even considering the extent to which the operation has been perfected in recent years, it's rare for a pitcher to be able to contribute within a year of TJ surgery. And it's rarer still for a pitcher to be as effective as he was before the surgery before 18 months or so have passed.

Now Wagner's perfect inning means little other than an indication that he could be back in the first half of August. There's still no telling if he will be effective enough to retire Major League hitters with any consistency, and it's still unlikely that the addition of Wagner will help the Mets very much at all down the stretch. But 10 months ago, it seemed unlikely that Wagner would ever pitch again for the Mets. Call it a medical marvel in a season full of medical disasters.

***UPDATE, 8:38 p.m.: Jerry Manuel said that Wagner will likely rest on Saturday and Sunday, then pitch again Monday. St. Lucie is off that day, so we'll have to wait and see where he throws. From there, Wagner will take two more days off and -- assuming his health -- will attempt to pitch on back-to-back days. Once that's accomplished, Wagner should be clear to join the Mets.

In other injury-related news...

• Manuel was coy when asked when Jose Reyes might run the bases, as he was originally expected to do Thursday. It seems Reyes might be further away than the Mets has originally believed, and Manuel said he'll still be at least a week away once he does run the bases for the first time. So much for early August.
• Gary Sheffield will come off the disabled list Sunday, when he is eligible.
• Before the game Saturday, Carlos Beltran took his first hacks of live batting practice since going on the DL. He walked with a limp, but hit with a fair bit of authority.

And in non-injury news...

• Manuel is expected to name a starter for Monday's game tonight or tomorrow morning. He did rule out the prospect of Johan Santana or Jon Niese pitching on short rest, meaning it's likely we'll see Tim Redding. On the off chance the Mets need to use Redding in long relief Sunday, Nelson Figueroa would figure to get the nod.
  

--Anthony DiComo