After visa trouble delayed his arrival in the country and reporting to spring training, then detection of anemia sent him to the DL, and a hiccup last weekend when he tweaked a side muscle stalled his return, Ronny Paulino will be activated on Friday, Sandy Alderson said.

Terry Collins had floated pregame the idea of waiting until Saturday to activate Paulino, to allow him more at-bats in the minors to tune up.

"We've told Ronny 'one more day' about three times," Alderson said after the Mets' six-game winning streak was snapped Thursday night in D.C., indicating no more delays were planned.

Paulino went 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI on Thursday night for Triple-A Buffalo at Rochester. There was one successful steal against him.

He hit .190 (8-for-42) with four RBIs and a walk between Class A St. Lucie and Buffalo during a 12-game rehab assignment.

Collins said Josh Thole would start against right-handed pitchers and Paulino against southpaws, with the exception being that Thole would always -- for the time being, at least -- catch knuckleballer R.A. Dickey. The omission of Mike Nickeas from that plan by the manager suggested the Mets do not intend to keep three catchers.

Nickeas, 28, is a favorite among pitchers. He has hit .250 with one homer and three RBIs in 20 at-bats.