ON THE WRIGHT TRACK
But return is still far off
DAVID WRIGHT has been in this position enough times to know that there are no certainties about what happens next. The setbacks he’s endured because of spinal stenosis and surgeries to his neck, back and shoulder have created an arduous path toward his ultimate goal of returning to playing in a major-league game, which he hasn’t done in two years.
But after Wright (inset) played catch Thursday afternoon at Citi Field for the first time since last year, there’s a glimmer of hope for the 35-year-old Mets captain that he can return before the end of this season. “I wouldn’t be wasting my time going out there playing a meaningless game of catch if I wasn’t hoping that I could give it another go,” Wright said. “Way too early to start circling dates. A small step, but I guess a step in the right direction.”
Throwing is the first phase of the week-to-week map Wright says doctors and trainers have drawn out, followed by taking grounders then swinging a bat and running.
However, because he doesn’t know how his body will respond, Wright says planning beyond three days at a time “is just speculating.” There will be days when he’ll wake up and not feel great, or weather affects his schedule.
“I had a good time out there and I’m happy about today, but again, I’ve had days where I thought I was getting to a point where I could push it a little bit, and then my body just wouldn’t allow it,” Wright said. “I guess you don’t get caught up too much in the big picture. It’s more day-by-day and short-term goals at this point than saying, ‘I threw 20 throws today from 60 feet, I’m ready to play.’ That’s just not how it works.”
Wright was shut down from baseball activities in mid-March after being re-examined by Dr. Robert Watkins, who has performed surgery on Wright. The timetable originally called for eight weeks, but it’s been more than 11 weeks since he was shut down.
His spinal stenosis isn’t going away. Surgery was performed to help alleviate pressure. So far he’s seen progress rehabbing, but increased intensity of baseball activities will present a stiffer challenge.
“One of the worst things for me before the surgery was swinging and missing or check-swinging, and I’ve had my fair share of swings and misses,” Wright said. “Those are the things that really hurt me the most presurgery, and those are the things that I’m gonna have to see how they feel once I start ramping it up and getting to that point — or diving for a ball, running full speed, doing things that you can’t do in a gym or a controlled environment.”
GM Sandy Alderson had said before Wright spoke that the third baseman would transition to baseball activities within the next several weeks. Wright believes that started on Thursday.
“Playing catch is a baseball activity in my opinion. I’d say playing catch is about as baseball as you get,” Wright said with a smile. “A good first step, but a long way to go.”