Castillo will be back activated today! - Who goes down?

In a stunning but easy to decipher turnaround, Castillo will not only return Saturday but will get his second base job back.

Castillo has been on the disabled list since July 3 with a strained left hip flexor. The Mets have been prospering with the tandem of rookie Argenis Reyes and Damion Easley at second base and Manuel has been saying for a while that Castillo would have to fight his way back into the lineup. The Mets did all they could to stretch Castillo's rehab time into infinity.

But baseball's rules require the Mets to activate Castillo. So they will. And the four-year, $25-million contract he signed in the offseason apparently requires him to be on the field instead of the bench.

Here's a wrinkle: Castillo, who has been known to sulk about playing time, said he doesn't care if he plays and would do whatever Manuel wanted.

" I don't know what he's got in mind," Castillo said when asked if he expected to be the everyday second baseman. "I'm here for anything to happen. If I don't play every day, I don't care."

Castillo, 32, is batting .261 with three home runs and 26 RBIs. Reyes is hitting .264 and Easley is at .262.

The Mets also face what Manuel called "kind of a touchy and dicey" roster decision Saturday. They want to keep Reyes and rookie outfielder Nick Evans, so 12th pitcher Brian Stokes could be the odd man out. But the Mets are concerned about not having a long man on Saturday with sore-shouldered John Maine scheduled to start.

Source:Newsday