Wright’s not done yet
Captain scheduled to play 5 innings today with Mets’ Single-A club
There's no quit in David Wright.
The Mets announced Wright will play five innings at third base Sunday for St. Lucie in a game against Clearwater. The Single-A game is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
“I think a lot of people want to get their eyes on him and see how the ball is coming off his bat, how he's moving around third, how he was throwing the ball,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway told reporters in Miami.
“Everyone felt confident that he was in a good spot to go out and compete in a game.”
Wright, 35, hasn't played in a major league game since late May of the 2016 season and the last time he appeared in a minor-league game was on Aug. 26, 2017.
The Mets' captain has been slowly rehabbing from multiple surgeries to repair injuries to his shoulder, back and neck.
He suffered his most recent setback in March when he was told he would have to shut down all baseball activities for two months.
"Hopefully I can start my spring training two months from now," Wright said on March 14 after being examined by Dr. Robert Watkins in L.A. "That would be the goal."
It was Dr. Watkins who performed back surgery on Wright last October.
Wright's medical woes begin back in 2015 when he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and missed 115 games. Although he was able to return and play in the Mets' run to the World Series that season, he only played 37 games the following season before needing neck surgery to fix a herniated disc.
Since the neck surgery, Wright has also had two separate procedures on his lower back and rotator cuff.
Despite the litany of injuries, Wright has been unwilling to call it a career.
“When it's all said and done, I want to be able to say I did everything I could (to get back to the majors),” Wright told reporters from Mets camp this spring.
“If it works (the rehab), that's obviously the goal and if it doesn't work, I'll rest easy knowing that I gave it my best shot.”
The seven-time All-Star went into the season with three years and $47 million left on his eight-year, $138 million contract extension he signed in November of 2012.
Wright, who was drafted by the Mets in the first round of the 2001 MLB draft, is one of the greatest players in franchise history.
He is the Mets leader in at bats, plate appearances, runs scored, hits, total bases, doubles and RBI. Only Darryl Strawberry (252) has more home runs in Met history than Wright (242).