Reyes should return Friday, but who's at second?

WASHINGTON - Jose Reyes finally is expected to return to the lineup Friday night for the first time since Aug. 26, when he aggravated a strained right oblique muscle. As for what that means for his potential double-play partners, manager Jerry Manuel is unsure of his plans for the final month, but don't expect to see much of Luis Castillo.

Castillo has not started since Saturday, and Luis Hernandez, called up Aug. 27 from Triple-A Buffalo, apparently has hopped over him on the depth chart. For that matter, Joaquin Arias probably has, as well.

But if the Mets are truly evaluating players for next season, Manuel should be giving most of the playing time at second base to Ruben Tejada, and the manager is reluctant to hand over the job to him.

"Hernandez is playing pretty good," Manuel said. "I kind of like what I'm seeing with him and I think Tejada could use a breather here and there, so I'd like to see what we get from that combination. We still have Luis, we still have Arias, so we'll see how it fits going down the stretch."

Hernandez had two hits Wednesday, including a run-scoring double, and he batted .333 (9-for-27) on the road trip.

Rotation spin

Manuel rejected the idea of a six-man rotation in September, despite pushing back Jonathon Niese until Sunday for the extra rest and the return of Johan Santana, who remains scheduled to start Monday - unless the doctors tell him otherwise when he is examined in the next day or two.

After Dillon Gee's impressive performance Tuesday night, when he allowed two hits and one run in seven innings, the Mets want to give him another start, but it might be difficult to squeeze him in. But given the recent struggles of Niese and Mike Pelfrey, Manuel suggested they could be skipped a turn, or even "piggybacked" with another starter such as Gee.

For this weekend against the Phillies, Jenrry Mejia will oppose Roy Halladay Friday night, followed by Pelfrey vs. TBD on Saturday and Niese vs. Roy Oswalt on Sunday.