MIAMI -- While the Mets' past at shortstop was in the opposing dugout at Marlins Park, manager Terry Collins was pleased with the team's present at the position.

Ruben Tejada, in his first full season taking over for Jose Reyes at shortstop, has been impressive for the Mets.

"He's done tremendous," Collins said. "He's played tremendous. We all knew he was going to be a solid defender, but I'm not sure we expected the offensive side."

Tejada, who got a day off from the starting lineup Sunday, was hitting .295 entering the finale with the Marlins -- second to only David Wright among the team's everyday players -- and the 22-year-old leadoff hitter was reaching base at a .339 clip. While Collins noted he has noticed Tejada getting fatigued some down the stretch, the Mets' skipper has still been impressed with Tejada's ability to work pitch counts on a nightly basis.

"We planned on having this guy hit deep in the lineup to protect him in his first full season," Collins said. He's ended up being our leadoff hitter. He's been absolutely tremendous."

Mets considering brief return to five-man rotation

MIAMI -- The Mets may return to a five-man rotation when Matt Harvey is shut down for the season, before switching back to six starters for the final stretch of the schedule.

New York opted to go with a six-man rotation in August in order to help reduce the workload of Harvey and several of the team's other starting pitchers like Chris Young and Jon Niese.

Manager Terry Collins suggested that the team may briefly go with a five-man rotation when Harvey reaches his prescribed innings limit. Harvey, who starts Tuesday in St. Louis, is at 152 1/3 total innings between Triple-A Buffalo and New York, and likely has 15-20 innings left before the team shuts him down.

"When Harvey's done, you're talking about the September callup guys are possible guys to slip into that same spot," Collins said. "We probably can get by with five [starters] until the last off-day [Sept. 20]."

After the final off-day, though, the Mets finish with a stretch of 13 games in 13 days, at which point Collins figures the team could benefit from a six-man rotation.

The Mets' skipper wants to get a few starts for righty Jenrry Mejia, who is currently with Buffalo but could join the Mets on Tuesday, along with a few other callups, after the Bisons' season ends. In 25 games with Buffalo, including nine starts, Mejia is 3-3 with a 3.06 ERA.

Worth noting

• Justin Turner started at second base and hit second in the order Sunday while Daniel Murphy was given the day off. It was Turner's ninth start at second and his fourth hitting in the two-hole.

"I wanted to get Justin in there," Collins said. "He was a huge part of this team last year and he needs to get some playing time. ... Last year, when he hit second, he was tremendous, so we tried it again."

• Collins said left-handed reliever Robert Carson was likely going to be unavailable out of the bullpen for Sunday's series finale. Carson warmed up each of the first two games against the Marlins after pitching in three straight games against the Phillies. With Carson off, the Mets are left with just one southpaw, Josh Edgin, in the bullpen against Miami.