Fernando Nieve likely will be the Mets starting pitcher on Saturday against the Brewers in Milwaukee, Jerry Manuel said today.

The reliever will be moved into a rotation lacking injured John Maine and Jon Niese and struggling Oliver Perez.

“He deserves a shot in my opinion,” Manuel said of Nieve. “I thought he pitched very well here last year.”

Nieve, 1-2 with a 5.32 ERA in 26 relief appearances this season, will be limited to approximately 80 pitches, according to Manuel. The right-hander was 3-3 with a 2.95 ERA in eight games (seven starts) last season.

“A big part of it is to continue to create depth in the starting rotation,” Manuel said. “If he does well, he continues to get the ball.”

That could be seen as an indication Maine will be out longer than his 15-day time on the disabled list.