A day after speculation swirled that 2008 could be Pedro Martinez's last year in baseball, the Mets hurler has returned to the Dominican Republic to be with his ailing father.
Martinez, scheduled to test his injured hamstring, instead returned home after receiving an e-mail that his father, Pablo Jaime, experienced a medical setback. The 78-year-old Jaime is battling brain cancer.
On the disabled list since April 2, the Mets were optimistic that Martinez would be ready to return from his hamstring injury for their series with the Dodgers at the end of the month. There is no timetable set for how long Martinez's trip home will last.
After seeing a hand specialist on Wednesday, Los Angeles Angels shortstop Erick Aybar was placed on the 15-day disabled list. Aybar dislocated his pinkie on Tuesday diving for a ball. The trip to the disabled list will end Aybar's streak of 39 consecutive games at shortstop.
To replace Aybar, the Angels have activated Chone Figgins who just completed his stint on the disabled list with a strained right hamstring.