WRIGHT AROUND THE CORNER
Captain makes long-awaited return in minors, September appearance possible
At long last, the captain has begun his comeback.
David Wright started a rehab assignment Tuesday night with Single-A St. Lucie in Port Charlotte, Fla., serving as the designated hitter, playing in a game for the first time since May 27 of last year.
The Mets third baseman has been sidelined since spring training with a shoulder impingement. He missed the latter half of 2016 after undergoing surgery to repair a herniated disk in his neck and battled spinal stenosis in 2015. The 34year-old has played in just 75 major league games since the end of the 2014 campaign.
“This is a huge step going forward,” Mets manager Terry Collins said. “I talked to him the other day, just told him to make sure he’s smart about it, which he will [be], I’m sure. I know he’s just DHing, but I’m really anxious to see how he felt. I know it’ll be a little different, but we can use him here, for sure.
Wright went 0-for-4 for St. Lucie, reaching on an error, popping out to second and striking out twice.
“It was a long time coming,” Wright told SNY after a 6-3 loss to the Stone Crabs. “Still quite a bit to go to get to where I want to be. But certainly a good first step. ... I don’t want to come back for the sake of coming back ... if I do start showing better results down here then we can kind of start talking about what the next step is.”
If Wright’s rehab progresses well enough, the Mets have one interleague road series left where he could DH — Sept. 1-3 in Houston.
“His mindset is he wants to get back and play this season,” Collins said.
Perhaps the biggest hurdle for Wright, given his latest injury, will be throwing. He did not throw throughout spring training. Collins said there is a plan to get him back on the field “eventually,” but that they will take it day by day to see how he responds.
Wright resumed baseball activities Aug. 2 and has been taking ground balls and throwing during his rehab, Collins said.
There has been talk about Wright potentially moving to first base to limit how much he has to throw.
One plan on the table, according to Collins, is bringing Wright back to the majors for September strictly as a pinch hitter off the bench if he is unable to play the field.
“There’s certainly a scenario where we don’t have to worry about him playing defense,” Collins said.
Wright still has three years and $47 million remaining on the $138 million contract he signed in December 2012.
The club has been besieged by injuries this season, with Wright kicking off the list. He played sparingly as a designated hitter during Grapefruit League action this spring before he was shut down due to the right shoulder impingement.
Wright is no stranger to late-season comebacks. In 2015, after missing four months of the regular season due to the spinal stenosis, he made a late-August return and hit .277 in 30 games to help the Mets make a run to the World Series.
If he is able to return this year, there will be no playoff push for him to spark. Instead, he could provide a voice of experience in a clubhouse that has seen most of its veterans get traded over the past month.
“David and I have talked enough to know that it’s not about how much he can play, it’s about how he plays,” Collins said. “He’s certainly aware of that.”
Wright could be just one of a handful of September reinforcements. Noah Syndergaard, Matt Harvey and Jeurys Familia are each at different stages of rehab assignments that they hope get them back on the field in Queens by the end of the season.
The wait has been longer for Wright, making his return that much more anticipated.
“I’m just excited to think that this guy’s back on the field and that he’s possibly going to put this uniform on again and step in that batter’s box here at Citi Field,” Collins said. “That’s a pretty cool thought.”