Marlins Put Leiter on Disabled List

Florida Marlin left-hander Al Leiter was put on the 15-day disabled list Friday because of a severely bruised right knee, and will be replaced in the rotation by Rick Helling.

Leiter, 3-1 with a 3.95 earned-run average, is expected to return within three weeks.

The knee first bothered Leiter when he pitched at San Francisco on April 18. The left-hander made two more starts after that, then left the team’s current road trip and returned to Miami for tests.

Helling will make his first start of the season Monday night at home against Pittsburgh. He is 0-1 with a 1.80 ERA as a reliever.

To replace Leiter on the roster, the Marlins recalled reliever Rob Stanifer from triple-A Charlotte. He had a 1-0 record in 10 games with an ERA of 2.08.

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The St. Louis Cardinals activated veteran infielder Mike Gallego, optioned pitcher Rich Batchelor to triple-A Louisville and designated infielder Steve Scarsone for assignment today.

Gallego, who signed as a free agent with St. Louis in January 1996, began last season on the disabled list with a right hamstring injury. He hit .210 with four RBIs in 51 games.

The 36-year-old Gallego was not eligible to play until Thursday because he was not offered salary arbitration by St. Louis.

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Lance Johnson, the second-leading batter on the New York Mets with a .296 average, was put on the 15-day disabled list Friday because of shin splints.

Johnson has been hurting since the start of the season and faced possible surgery if he did not rest his feet.