PORT ST. LUCIE — Jose Reyes, you’re on the clock.
With the countdown to the Mets’ season opener now at T-minus six days, Reyes yesterday ratcheted up workouts, facing his first live pitching since returning to camp six days ago. This after spending 21⁄2 weeks at home resting because of an overactive thyroid.
The results of Reyes’ hitting session weren’t awful.
“I put the ball in play — not too many swings and misses, so I just feel happy with what I did today,” Reyes said.
All told, Reyes faced 39 pitches from minor-league pitchers Mike Antonini and Dillon Gee, taking the equivalent of seven at-bats. Reyes swung at 14 pitches and hit two or three balls that likely would have gone for hits.
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The next step, which could come as soon as today, involves Reyes running the bases. The Mets have already seen him field plenty of grounders.
It’s clear that Reyes’ availability for Monday’s opener against the Marlins largely hinges on the manner in which he is hitting the ball. Manager Jerry Manuel indicated he passed the first test.
“I was surprised that he would have those type of swings right away,” Manuel said. “It was good to see him have those type of at-bats against those guys.”
If Reyes isn’t a go for the opener, the Mets could place him on the disabled list, retroactive to March 26, provided he doesn’t appear in a Grapefruit League game. That would allow the Mets to carry another player and avoid playing short-handed for the first few games if Reyes is expected to be ready shortly after Opening Day.
The lineup Manuel posted for today’s exhibition game against the Cardinals has Alex Cora batting leadoff followed by Luis Castillo and David Wright. Cora is the frontrunner to start on Opening Day if Reyes isn’t available — despite a strong camp by rookie Ruben Tejada. But Reyes doesn’t want to think in those terms.
That became evident when he was asked if it would be difficult to sit idle for Opening Day.
“It’s hard for anybody — everybody wants to be in there for Opening Day,” Reyes said. “But right now we don’t know what’s going to happen. I’m getting ready as soon as possible.”
The Mets’ biggest fear is they will rush Reyes into action and then watch their star shortstop suffer a recurrence of the hamstring problems that sabotaged his 2009 season.
It’s possible Reyes will play a simulated game against minor leaguers in the next 1-2 days, allowing him to run the bases. Then it would be a matter of determining how many at-bats Reyes would need to be ready.
“I haven’t played since last May, so I can’t wait to go there on the field and play with my teammates again,” Reyes said. “My legs are good. I’ve been running the last five or six days. I’ve been running 100 percent, so there is nothing to worry about on that part.”
Manuel continues to call Reyes’ comeback a “unique situation” that has to be observed closely.
“Every time we do something [new] we have to monitor him the very next day and see how he feels,” Manuel said.
mpuma@nypost.com