Mets place Young on DL, recall den Dekker

NEW YORK -- In dealing with a hamstring strain, outfielder Eric Young is taking cues from David Wright.

Young remembers how Wright tried to play through a mild hamstring injury last season, only to exacerbate it and spend most of the season's final month on the disabled list. So Young is taking the cautious route, going on the DL Monday with a strained right hamstring.

"My legs are a big part of my game," Young said, "so I'd rather take the two weeks instead of risking it and potentially being out longer than that."

To replace Young on the roster, the Mets recalled outfielder Matt den Dekker from Triple-A Las Vegas. Den Dekker was batting .269 with four homers in 47 games at Vegas. That earned him the call over fellow outfielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis, who is hitting .203 with 21 strikeouts in 59 at-bats since returning to Vegas after a prior stint with the Mets.

"I feel like I've been swinging the bat pretty well the last couple of weeks," den Dekker said. "I actually made a couple of adjustments to my swing. I'm a little more spread out now from where I was in Spring Training. I feel like it's helped me see the ball a little better and swing the bat well."

Young, who had recently fallen into a reserve role as the Mets worked to give Juan Lagares more regular playing time, was batting .220 with 17 stolen bases in 42 games. Straining his hamstring on a successful stolen-base attempt Saturday against the D-backs, Young fully expects to return from the DL when he is eligible on June 9.