PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- In March 2004, BC -- before Carlos Beltran -- when Art Howe still was still in the manager's office and Steve Phillips was between jobs, Jim Duquette peered toward a distant horizon and saw Jose Reyes batting third in a Mets lineup, one spot before David Wright and one place after Rudy HeIsn'tHereYet.

Then the Mets' general manager, Duquette offered no predictions, but spoke in possibilities.

"Could be, could be," he said, "once Jose has more experience, is a little more patient and develops a better sense of the strike zone.

"A switch-hitter with his speed and extra-base power, he could be there, especially if we develop a player with real leadoff skills."

The horizon no longer is so distant. Reyes, who has batted leadoff primarily in his six seasons in the big leagues, might be moved to the No. 3 position in the Mets' order this season. Manager Jerry Manuel said Saturday he has considered dropping the 25-year-old shortstop in the order -- the third spot seems more likely than the second -- as he has mulled changes that he believes will make the order deeper and more productive.

The manager made his thoughts public as he discussed ways of maximizing the potential of second baseman Luis Castillo. In a scenario Manuel has contemplated, Castillo would bat leadoff, a position not unfamiliar to him, and Reyes, who has no career plate appearances as a No. 3 hitter, would bat third. Beltran could then bat second, a slot in which he has prospered in the past.

Manuel was no more definite Saturday than Duquette had been five years earlier.

"It depends on how it looks, how it fits," Manuel said.

But he clearly had weighed the possibility more than once.

Though the manager had spoken with Reyes since the end of last season, he said he hadn't broached the subject with him. Manuel left that responsibility to the gaggle of reporters assembled in his office on a day that had been put aside for physicals, fun and no games.

But Manuel also said he was confident Reyes wouldn't resist a change because "it would be best for the team." And a significant portion of what Manuel intends to preach to his players this spring involves putting the team before the individual. He said, "The game takes precedent over individuals stats," and variations on that theme several times.

The manager even went so far as to suggest a player who goes hitless in four at-bats but does the "little things" to help the team in one game might be rewarded the following day and have a better chance to play than a teammates who had two hits in four at-bats but did nothing to enhance the greater good. Manuel called it "kind of a ticklish situation" and noted, "We have to applaud and celebrate the little things."

"More than anyone else we have, we need to get him going."

-- Jerry Manuel, on Luis Castillo

He made a point to say he didn't believe his players behaved selfishly on the field last season "to a point that it stood out." But now, with the Rays' "9=8" mantra resonating throughout the game and evidence that the approach has worked well for Mike Scioscia's Angels teams, Manuel indicated ways to enhance his players' selflessness do exist. He said he intends to emphasize that.

"There'll be a lot of conversations," he said.

But the manager also knows it won't be an easy sell. Salary arbitration hearings seldom focus on hitting behind the runner and taking pitches.

Manuel knows a renaissance -- even a modest one -- by Castillo is critical to the team's October aspirations. The manager indicated getting Castillo past the natural inertia of last season as well as the scrutiny and doubts that await him is important.

"More than anyone else we have, we need to get him going." Manuel said.

He senses he has a better chance of resuscitating Castillo's career by using him in roles that suit his skills; i.e., using him high in the order.

Even last season when Castillo struggled, he was at his best when he batted second. (He had no appearances in the leadoff position.) But when Castillo led off innings, regardless of where in the order he was batting, he was remarkably unproductive.

The vast majority of Castillo's career at-bats have come in the leadoff and second spots. He batted leadoff all but exclusively for the Marlins from 1999-2002.

Reyes, meanwhile, has no body of work as a No. 3 hitter; 91.6 percent of his big league plate appearances have been as a leadoff batter. He has started 743 games in the big leagues -- 676 leading off, 42 as a No. 2 hitter, and most of those came in the second half of the 2003 season when Roger Cedeno and Jeff Duncan batted leadoff.

Then again, there is hardly a guarantee any of this proposed change will be in effect when the season begins or even during the games that follow the return of the players from the World Baseball Classic.

Manuel may have been sending messages so he can take the temperatures of the players likely to be involved. He wouldn't be the first manager to do so.

The manager has said he wants Reyes to assume greater responsibility, and he may be using the scenarios he presented Saturday to measure Reyes' receptiveness or willingness to take one for the team.

It is, after all, February, and the first real "batteries only" workout isn't until Sunday.