Reyes to return Monday against Marlins

Goodbye, Irene. Hello, Jose Reyes.

Now that one force of nature has vacated Citi Field, another returns Monday as the Mets resume their season with a doubleheader against the Marlins. Reyes is expected to play in only one of the two games; Terry Collins has said he will be cautious with the shortstop for the final month -- and next year, if the Mets are able to re-sign the pending free agent.

Reyes is coming off a three-game rehab stint for Double-A Binghamton that included a total of 20 innings. He went 3-for-9 with a home run and the Mets were careful about his workload, gradually increasing it from five innings the first night to eight Saturday. Regardless of the weather, the team's plan was to rest him Sunday before his return to the lineup.

Two weeks earlier, during the Mets' trip to San Diego, Collins first brought up his "Reyes Rules" to be implemented once he came off the DL. In the bigger picture, Collins said he has talked with Reyes about closely monitoring him next season and beyond if he remains a Met.

"That will be our goal of spring training, to come up with that plan," Collins said. "We've got to be smart enough to make those adjustments.''

These last 32 games could be the start of that process, even if Reyes bristles at the idea of extra rest. Collins intends to give him an additional day or two to recharge in situations he previously would not have considered it.

After what Reyes has gone through the past seven weeks, the Mets don't have much choice. After being placed on the disabled list July 7 with a strained left hamstring and activated July 19, Reyes said it took more than two weeks for him to play at full speed again. As soon as he did for one night, the hamstring acted up again the next day, forcing Reyes back to the DL on Aug. 8.

That's two DL trips in the span of a month, and the startling recurrence of Reyes' hamstring issues left the Mets scratching their heads.Once was disturbing enough, but twice showed that it was no fluke, and Collins would very much like to avoid the hat trick.

"It's just that there's basically wear and tear on those legs," Collins said earlier this month, "and we've got to let him have a blow now and then."

Other than staying healthy, Reyes doesn't have much left to prove in his walk year. One thing that could help him in those contract negotiations, however, is adding the first batting title in Mets history to his resume.

In the club's 50th season, Reyes leads the National League with his .336 average, with the Brewers' Ryan Braun (.332) a close second.

Can Reyes find his second wind for the stretch run? After first coming off the DL on July 19, he batted .256 (20-for-78) with a .280 on-base percentage in 18 games before landing on the DL again. In addition, he's missed 39 days since July 2, and restarting that high-performance engine will be a challenge for both Reyes and the Mets beginning Monday.