MET NOTES

ATLANTA – The last time Mike Stanton pitched, he couldn’t push off with his balky left knee.

“I was lifting my leg and falling,” said Stanton, who has pitched once since May 16.

The veteran lefty, whose unavailability on Friday night caused Art Howe to rely on rookie southpaw Pedro Feliciano, is day-to-day with inflammation and fluid on his knee. It is a different injury from the right knee problem he had last month during the trip to Puerto Rico. He was again unavailable during the 10-4 loss to Atlanta.

“It’s nothing real serious,” Stanton said, adding that he won’t need to be placed on the disabled list. “I just woke up one day and it was there.

“It is very frustrating when you want to get out there and there’s something wrong with your body that won’t let you.”

Stanton is icing the knee to alleviate the fluid and inflammation.

* Rey Sanchez (left thumb) is eligible to come off the disabled list today, but won’t be activated until Tuesday at the earliest. Sanchez has been fielding grounders during BP in the past few days, and Howe reported the 35-year-old infielder was also hitting in the cage.

“He still feels some discomfort,” Howe said. “It’s something he’ll have to deal with when he comes back. It’s getting better but it’s not totally gone.”

John Franco allowed two runs in the second of back-to-back outings on Friday, and his velocity may have been down from Thursday. Steve Phillips said it was “within [Franco’s] normal range.” Franco will go again Monday and Tuesday.

Righty Jerrod Riggan, a former Met, signed with the club and will be sent to Triple A Norfolk. Riggan was outrighted off Cleveland’s roster and declared himself a free agent rather than accept a minor-league assignment. He was part of the Roberto Alomar trade after the 2001 season.

Jose Reyes (hamstring) was scheduled to play a game in extended spring training in Florida yesterday, then return to Norfolk today. Grant Roberts (shoulder tendinitis) threw 22 pitches in an extended spring training game Friday.