After plasma shot, David to start throwing this week
PORT ST. LUCIE — David Wright is expected to start throwing within the next few days. The Mets’ veteran third baseman, who has not thrown a baseball since he had neck surgery in June, received a plateletrich plasma injection in his shoulder this week and will begin a throwing program after a few days’ rest.
The injection was scheduled as part of his rehab to be right before Wright began the program, Terry Collins explained.
“The last we talked about, there was a time he was to rest after that injection he got,” the Mets manager said. “According to my schedule, it’s either Sunday or Monday. He’s in constant contact with the doctors and trainers, so it will be when he is HOWARD SIMMONS/DAILY NEWS ready to go.”
Collins, however, cautioned that while throwing may be the final hurdle for Wright to overcome in his recovery back from surgery to repair a herniated disc in his neck, it’s still a big one.
With games beginning on Friday, it’s likely Wright will start Grapefruit League competition late again this spring. Dealing with spinal stenosis last spring, Wright did not play in a spring training game until March 18, more than halfway through the Mets’ schedule.
For the second straight spring, Wright is working his way back from a major issue related to his spine. In 2015 he missed 115 games after being diagnosed with spinal stenosis and spent most of the first half of the 2016 spring slowly working his way through basic drills. He began to feel discomfort in his neck then and only got through 37 games before needing surgery.
So, it is hard for the Mets to actually know what type of player they will be getting back this year if the now-34-year-old Wright remains healthy.
Over the past two years, Wright has played in just 75 regular-season games. He hit a career-low .226 with a 55 strikeouts in 137 at-bats last season.
The Mets position players were required to report over the last two days for physicals, but the team’s first full workout is not until Sunday.
WHEELS UP
Zack Wheeler is scheduled to throw off the bullpen mound on Sunday. The righthander was pushed back after experiencing “tenderness” in his surgically repaired elbow after his session in the bullpen on Tuesday.
Wheeler is still trying to make his way back from March 2015 Tommy John surgery. He was initially expected back in the middle of the 2016 season, but suffered several setbacks. The 26-year-old reported the tenderness after throwing his first bullpen session of spring training.
DAY ONE
Collins said Sunday is the biggest day for him all spring. Right before the first full-squad workout, the Mets manager will address the team. This year, Collins will pick up right where he left off.
“I will open up with the same line I used the last day of the season. What they went through, with the adversity we faced, the perseverance and the character of that clubhouse. They know they can do that,” Collins said, referring to the Mets’ ability to get to the wild card game after significant injuries in 2016. “I am not sure there were teams that went through all we did with the pitching that went down and they rose up when they needed to rise up. That’s got to speak volumes.”
Collins added he will also talk about the importance of maintaining their health.