Mets' Relief Corps Is Short-Handed WASHINGTON - There was some shuffling amid the Mets pitching ranks on Tuesday, including one development that will leave the team shorthanded for its three-game series here this week. Jon Rauch was examined late Monday night after feeling tenderness in his arm, and was found to have what Manager Terry Collins characterized Tuesday afternoon as "debris" in his elbow. "It's flared up a little bit," Collins said of Rauch, "so he needs a few days down." Rauch did not travel with the team in Washington, but Collins said he expected to have him available for the start of the Mets" series at Yankees Stadium on Friday night. Rauch, therefore, was not placed on the disabled list, leaving the Mets with a 24-man roster for a three-day span. Collins said that Bobby Parnell would take Rauch's place as the first-choice option in the eighth inning and acknowledged that overall he would have to be more judicious with how he used his relief pitchers this week. "We're going to have some innings out of our starters, that's for sure," Collins said. They're going to have to get us into the game, and certainly we'll have to be careful about how we use some of the guys out of the bullpen. After getting stellar starting pitcher in their four-game series at home against the St. Louis Cardinals, the Mets during this series will have to tip-toe through an unusual week. The team on Tuesday formally selected the contract of Chris Young from their Class AAA team in Buffalo and said that they had reinstated Miguel Batista from the disabled list. Young had already been scheduled to start the opening game of the Mets series against the Washington Nationals Tuesday night, with Batista slated for long relief. Young's last outing in the major leagues came in May 2011, shortly before he underwent surgery to repair a torn anterior capsule in his shoulder. Batista strained his back during a start last month in Toronto. To accommodate these moves, Jack Egbert, who appeared in one game, was designated for assignment, and Ramon Ramirez was placed on the disabled list with a strained hamstring. Collins confirmed that Ramirez hurt himself while running to join the celebration on the mound after Johan Santana's no-hitter on Friday night. "He was so excited he just burst out of the bullpen and started running," Collins said, "and they said about halfway to the infield he just stopped." Jeremy Hefner will start for the Mets on Wednesday. He was inserted into the rotation so that Santana, who threw a career-high 134 pitches Friday, could be given two extra days of rest before his next start. Collins said he was satisfied by how Santana's arm has responded in recent days, and Santana reported no issues. "I feel good, and we'll be ready for Friday," Santana said Tuesday after a problem-free bullpen session. I've felt fine the whole time. The Mets also provided an update on Jon Niese, who said Monday night that he planned to have an ablation procedure over the All-Star break next month to correct his irregular heartbeat, which has bothered him during some starts in the last two seasons. The team on Tuesday announced in a statement that the procedure would actually be performed "at a future time, probably in the off season." The Mets said the procedure would "minimally invasive" and that Niese was cleared to pitch in the meantime. 15 More Draft Picks The Mets made 15 selections Tuesday on the second day of baseball's amateur draft, which covered rounds 2 through 15. With the first of their two second-round picks, they selected Matthew Reynolds (71st overall), a third-baseman from Arkansas. Reynolds was the 83rd-ranked draft prospect this year by Baseball America. "He's a tremendous offensive player," Tommy Tanous, the Mets scouting director, said of Reynolds. We see him moving fairly quickly through the organization. The Mets then picked a pair of right-handers: Theodore Stankiewicz (75th overall) from Fort Worth Christian High School in Texas and Matthew Koch (107th) from Louisville. In the fourth round, the Mets took Branden Kaupe, a shortstop from Baldwin High School in Hawaii, and in the fifth they selected Brandon Welch, a right-hander from Palm Beach State. The Mets picks through the tenth round were as follows: Jayce Boyd (first baseman, Florida State), Corey Oswalt (right-hander, Madison High School, California), Tomas Nido (catcher, Orangewood Christian High School), Richie Rodriguez (second base, Eastern Kentucky), and Paul Sewald (right-hander, San Diego). The 40-round draft will conclude on Wednesday.