NEW YORK — The Mets traded Ryan Church to the Braves for Jeff Francoeur and cash Friday in a swap of outfielders.
The rare deal between NL East rivals came with both teams below .500.
“What’s just weird is you imagine to be traded, but you never imagine to be traded to maybe your biggest rival,” Francoeur said in Denver before the Braves played the Rockies.
Church is hitting .280 with two home runs and 22 RBIs, while Francoeur is hitting .250 with five homers and 35 RBIs.
Francoeur, who had three doubles against the Rockies on Thursday, likely will start for the Mets in right field tonight in New York.
Angels hurting in the outfield
ANAHEIM, Calif. — The Angels placed outfielders Torii Hunter (adductor strain) and Vladimir Guerrero (knee) on the 15-day disabled list.
Angels manager Mike Scioscia put Guerrero’s and Hunter’s timeline to return at three to four weeks.
“It just depends on how it heals,” Scio- scia said. “It’s the range we’re probably looking at, but I don’t think anyone has a crystal ball on how these things are going to heal, so we’re going to take it one step at a time.”
Soto goes on DL
CHICAGO — Cubs catcher Geovany Soto, the 2008 NL rookie of the year, is going on the 15-day DL with a strained left oblique muscle, manager Lou Piniella said. Soto could be out a month.
• Searchers recovered the body of former Cubs reliever Jessie Hollins, who was reported missing on a southeast Texas lake. Hollins, who appeared in four games for Chicago in 1992, apparently drowned while fishing below Lake Livingston Dam on Thursday afternoon. He was 39.
Footnotes.
The Royals acquired shortstop Yuniesky Betancourt from the Mariners for minor-league pitchers Danny Cortes and Derrick Saito.
• Astros ace Roy Oswalt left in the seventh inning of Houston’s game against Washington with numbness in two fingers on his pitching hand.
• Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth was picked for the NL all-star team as a replacement for Mets center fielder Carlos Bel- tran (knee), and Rangers outfielder Nelson Cruz was selected to replace Torii Hunter on the AL roster for Tuesday’s game in St. Louis. The Associated Press
