Delgado was put on the 15-day disabled list Saturday. The first baseman is hitting .298 with four home runs and 23 RBIs in 26 games.
Delgado had been ailing for more than a week before going on the DL, and had not played since May 10. Fernando Tatis and Jeremy Reed had started at first base in Delgado's absence.
The Mets also activated right-hander Tim Redding off the disabled list to start Monday night against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Righty Nelson Figueroa was designated for assignment.
The 36-year-old Delgado enjoyed a resurgence last year, batting .271 with 38 home runs and 115 RBIs.
But an examination Monday in New York confirmed what the Mets feared - their cleanup hitter would be out for a while. He will have arthroscopic surgery to remove the bone spur and repair the torn labrum.
New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez suffered from a torn labrum - cartilage that lines the hip socket to stabilize and cushion the joint - had surgery in early March. He missed exactly two months.
Delgado had hit .423 (11-for-26) with three doubles, a homer and seven RBIs in the seven games before he left the lineup.
The 31-year-old Redding is pitching for his fifth different major league team in the last six seasons.
Redding, an eight-year veteran who sat out the first six weeks of the season because of shoulder soreness, didn't miss a turn in the Washington Nationals' rotation last year.
He signed a one-year, $2.25 million contract with the Mets on Jan. 12, two months after undergoing surgery to repair a joint in his left foot, and was hoping to compete for the fifth spot in the Mets' rotation. But he was shut down on March 14, two days after giving up nine runs, eight hits and three homers in two innings against Florida in his only spring training appearance against major league hitters.
A spot in the Mets' rotation opened up for Redding because of the tendinitis in Oliver Perez's right knee and two poor starts by rookie Jonathon Niese, who was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo last Wednesday night.
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