SLUMPING GONZALEZ DROPS SPOT IN ORDER

Carlos Gonzalez has not delivered any special cargo in quite some time. Little wonder that manager Walt Weiss bumped him to fifth in the batting order for Saturday night’s game against the New York Mets.

Gonzalez entered the game hitting just 2-for-14 on the current homestand. He had not hit a home run in 23 games, his longest streak without a homer since 2012. He had not driven in a run in 16 games, the longest drought of his career.

“I wanted to take a little bit of heat off CarGo,” Weiss said of the move. “He’s putting a lot of pressure on himself being in that three hole. He’s struggling a little bit right now, and I know he’s wearing it.

“Every once in a while I will do this: try to get the guy out of the fire. It’s not that big of a change, but mentally it can be.”

Weiss said Gonzalez’s timing is off.

“He’s got the big leg kick and sometimes he drifts a little bit, as leg kickers do,” Weiss said. “He’s just a tick off, that’s all. We have seen it before, but when he gets it going, you can’t get him out.”

Gonzalez was in a terrible slump last year. Coming off surgery to repair the patellar tendon in his left knee, he hit .208 through May 27. By season’s end, he was batting .271, with 40 homers, 25 doubles and 97 RBIs.

Who’s on first? Utility infielder Daniel Descalso, his broken hand finally healed, is now the primary backup first baseman to Mark Reynolds. The role once belonged to Ben Paulsen, but Paulsen was optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque on Friday when Descalso came off the disabled list and was added to the 25-man roster.

“Of the four infield spots, it’s definitely the one I’ve played the least,” said Descalso, who landed on the DL for the first time in his career. “I’ll spend a little extra time over there, to get comfortable around the bag and with the firstbase glove.”

Catching on. With Nick Hundley still on the disabled list, backup catcher Tony Wolters, just 23, continues to get extensive playing time — and earn praise from Weiss for his defense. “The thing that I’ve been most impressed about Tony is his baseball aptitude and his baseball instincts for a kid his age,” Weiss said. “I’m impressed with the way this kid has jelled with our staff. We didn’t even know this kid until spring training.”