Dellin needs to bring the heat

As the calendar flips to autumn and a slight chill permeates the air, one Mets reliever will attempt to bring the heat.

Dellin Betances has been on the injured list since Aug. 30 with a right lat injury that the Mets are referring to as “tightness.”

He was back at

Citi Field on Wednesday, and after being evaluated, activated for the team’s final home game against the Rays.

Betances, 32, actually hid his right lat injury from the Mets since late July. Manager Luis Rojas said Betances told the team about his discomfort after his Subway Series appearance in late August, but he’d been dealing with the injury since the Mets’ second series of the year in Boston.

“We found out he was battling some stuff that probably restricted him to be consistent in his release point,” Rojas said. “Those are some of the things he’s working on with his arm angle, getting to his release point consistently.”

It’s possible Betances’ recent bout of injuries has led to a noticeable drop in his velocity.

WELCOME BACK, MIKE

Michael Conforto returned to the lineup Wednesday as designated hitter for the Mets’ final home game of the season. He missed two games with left hamstring tightness.

Despite going 0-for-4 Wednesday night, Conforto, 27, is having the kind of season fans had been waiting for from the right fielder since his 2017 All-Star year. It’s the type of year that signals for a contract extension.

Conforto said he last spoke to the Mets about a potential contract extension during the team’s first spring training in Port St. Lucie back in March. He called the brief chat “preliminary,” and the topic hasn’t come up since then.