"The Mets on Wednesday said Johan Santana would not be back with the team this year and the left-hander would not start for Single-A Savannah on Thursday as scheduled.

Santana had surgery on his throwing shoulder more than a year ago, and the Mets held out hope he could get some major-league time this season.

But manager Terry Collins said Wednesday, "That pretty much has been out the window a while.

"I just think, for him to come here, even for one outing, we were asking for a bad experience afterwards. … [Rehab coordinator] Randy Niemann told me today he's gonna be ready for spring training and that's good enough for me.""