updated 9:22 p.m. ET Sept. 26, 2008

NEW YORK - Johan Santana is ready to pitch on short rest Saturday if the New York Mets need him.

Still fighting for a playoff spot, the Mets were undecided on a starter for Saturday against Florida. Injured right-hander John Maine has been sidelined since August, leaving a hole in the rotation, so New York has turned to rookie Jon Niese and journeyman Brandon Knight for crucial starts in September.

But time is running out. The Mets entered Friday night’s game against the Marlins tied with Milwaukee atop the wild-card standings and one game behind first-place Philadelphia in the NL East.

Santana, slated to pitch the season finale Sunday, threw a career-high 125 pitches Tuesday in a win over the Chicago Cubs. He told manager Jerry Manuel on Thursday that he could come back to start Saturday if the team thought it was best.

“If that’s what they want me to do, then I’ll definitely do it,” Santana said. “Whatever it takes.”

Manuel said Thursday that Santana wouldn’t be considered for Saturday, then backtracked Friday and wouldn’t rule out such a scenario. In fact, it sounded as though the Mets were strongly considering going with Santana on Saturday, unless they pulled ahead of the Brewers on Friday night.

Manuel said he would announce Saturday’s starter after Friday night’s game. Santana said he told the training staff to help prepare him to pitch Saturday.

“I just told Jerry, whatever we have to do, I’ll be fine with that. It’s all about winning,” he said.

Santana has never gone only three days between regular-season starts. He did so once for Minnesota in the 2004 AL playoffs, allowing one run in five innings against the New York Yankees.

Acquired from the Twins last February in a blockbuster trade, the two-time AL Cy Young Award winner is in the first season of a $137.5 million, six-year contract. He is 15-7 with a 2.64 ERA in 33 starts and hasn’t lost since June.

One benefit to starting Santana on short rest Saturday is that if the Mets do make the playoffs, he could potentially start Games 2 and 5 in a best-of-five division series on full rest.

If the Mets go with Santana on Saturday, they probably would start Oliver Perez on three days’ rest Sunday, as long as the game matters. Pedro Martinez would likely get the ball Monday on three days’ rest in a potential playoff tiebreaker.

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