MIAMI -- Infielder Luis Hernandez underwent surgery Tuesday morning to repair a fractured right metatarsal bone in his right foot, officially ending his season.

Hernandez, 26, broke the bone fouling a pitch off his foot in Saturday afternoon's game against the Braves. He stayed in the game and hit a home run on the next pitch, limping around the bases before giving way to a defensive replacement.

In 44 at-bats with the Mets, the utility infielder hit .250 with two home runs, six RBIs and a stolen base.

Parnell shut down for rest of season

MIAMI -- Citing caution, the Mets shut reliever Bobby Parnell down for the year Tuesday after an MRI revealed that Parnell had suffered an inflamed plica of his right elbow.

"I think with him and his future, this probably is the best thing for him," manager Jerry Manuel said. "Get it really healed and be ready to go by spring."

Parnell, 26, completed his season with a 2.83 ERA, 33 strikeouts and eight walks in 35 innings out of the bullpen.

Originally feeling stiffness in his right elbow over a week ago, Parnell temporarily ceased throwing last weekend, then appeared in three games later in the week in New York. After then complaining of discomfort to the team's training staff, Parnell underwent an MRI on Monday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in Manhattan. The verdict was inflammation.

"I could have had a cortisone shot and pitched tomorrow if need be, and I'm all for it," Parnell said. "But they said that wasn't the case."

Instead, Parnell will rest and ice while watching the team's final 12 games from the bullpen bench. If he is to develop into the shutdown reliever that the Mets envision him becoming, Parnell must be in top form next season.

"My ball was starting to run back over the plate a lot and it was hard to get extended, and I guess that's from the inflammation," Parnell said. "My control wasn't there like I wanted it to. I just wanted to make sure it's nothing serious, which it's not."

Despite the late setback, Parnell enjoyed a successful sophomore season in the big leagues, reestablishing himself as a power arm out of the 'pen after an unsuccessful stint as a starter down the stretch last season. Taking into account his fastball, which has recently been clocked as high as 102 mph, the Mets view him as a future closer.

"He's a power arm," Manuel said. "You feel very confident that he's going to throw strikes and that he has power."

Torre issues apology to Manuel

MIAMI -- After hearing of Jerry Manuel's negative reaction to his recent comments about being open to managing the Mets, Joe Torre apologized on Tuesday and dismissed the notion that he is interested in a return to New York.

"I am closing the door on managing the Mets and probably everybody else," Torre said in Los Angeles.

Earlier Tuesday, Manuel criticized Torre for stating publicly that he would be "curious" about a possible return to Flushing, where he finished his playing career and began his managerial career more than three decades ago.

"You question the integrity," Manuel said. "That's what comes to my mind."

In New York on Monday for a ceremony honoring the late Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, Torre made his comments on the radio station WFAN, saying that he hopes "the phone will be ringing" after this season.

Last week, Torre announced that he would not return to Los Angeles, where he has spent the last three seasons, but did not close the door on joining another organization.

"He's an icon in New York," Manuel said. "That's to be expected. That's home. New York, it's the Mecca of baseball."

But his comments did not sit well with Manuel, the current Mets manager, prompting Torre's apology.

"I apologize to Jerry Manuel and all the other managers," Torre said after learning of Manuel's comments. "I know what my intention was. Unfortunately, I can't get on the other side of it and see how it's received. I would doubt very seriously if there would be anything that would entice me to manage again. This is pretty good duty out here, this franchise and this ballpark. I don't anticipate anything that would make sense for me to manage again.'"

Torre, who will turn 71 next summer, won six pennants and four World Series titles over 12 seasons managing the Yankees. This season will snap his 14-year streak of qualifying for the postseason.

Torre and Manuel do not know each other well. One of their few personal encounters came in 1999, when Torre named Manuel, then manager of the White Sox, to his American League coaching staff for the All-Star Game.

Though Manuel said he understands Torre's interest in managing the Mets, he did not appreciate the Dodgers' manager openly discussing his job. Manuel may be in the final season of a two-year contract with the Mets, but he is still the team's skipper at least for the next two weeks.

"I also can understand the desire to come back when you have been there," Manuel said of New York. "Once you bite the apple, you're hungry for it. That's just the way it is. It's a place where once you get there and get feeling the passion and all that, you're hungry. There's no place like it. And I can see that people would want these types of positions in New York. There are a thousand people that would want this job. For him to say what he said only validates how special it is to have this opportunity."