Outside the batting cage, the chatter of Mets shortstop Jose Reyes mingled with the crack of a fungo bat.

It was an hour before Wednesdays game at Nationals Park, another in which Reyes would not play.

Less than a month remains in his contract season.

There was laughter.

There was the hunt for activity.

The day before, Reyes told his manager he wanted to play.

His request was denied.

The Mets want Reyes oblique injury to heal.

So here he was, fielding ground balls chopped at him by bullpen catcher Lillian Castro.

This beat the melancholy of last year, when leg problems kept Reyes away from the field.

Now, at least, he is near the game.

“I want to play baseball, because thats what I do,” Reyes said.

“This is what I love to do.”

Reyes expects to play today, after 13 games away, when the Mets play host for a three-game series against Philadelphia.

The oblique limited Reyes ability to pull the ball as a left-handed batter.

At times, Reyes said, the muscle felt like “its going to explode” from the strain.

These past two years, injuries have shackled Reyes during a period in his career when prime production is expected.

Hours spent on rehabilitation overshadowed hours needed for development.

Uncertainty awaits in the offseason.

Reyes fate relies on the Mets faith in him.

“I have to understand, this is a business,” Reyes said.

“I dont know where Im going to be next year.

I want to be here.

Theres no doubt in my mind.”

His health complicates the issue.

Reyes hurt his calf in May of last season.

He later tore his hamstring and missed the rest of the season.

A freak thyroid problem surfaced during spring training this past March.

Doctors limited him from baseball activity for three weeks, which kept Reyes out of the Opening Day lineup.

He returned as an All-Star, but the oblique problem barked in June.

It resurfaced late last month.

The team has been cautious.

But the front office does not plan to shut him down, general manager Omar Minaya said, because the oblique problem is “not something that he can hurt himself long-term.” The team wants to observe Reyes.

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