IT'S ALL WRIGHT
Amazin’s icon gets one last game in the only city he’s called home
Brandon Nimmo still remembers one special phone call he received shortly after he was selected by the Mets in the first round of the 2011 draft. The caller was David Wright, welcoming the 18-year-old Nimmo to the organization and dangling a carrot for the young outfielder. “He said he was looking forward to us playing together and helping out the team and winning a World Series together,” Nimmo said. “That was something special for me on that day.” At least one part of that vision will be fulfilled Tuesday, when the 35-year-old Wright is activated from the disabled list, placing him on a major league roster for the first time with Nimmo. Wright’s last game for the Mets was May 27, 2016, about a month before Nimmo’s major league debut. The Wright farewell tour — he does not plan to continue his career beyond this week because of physical limitations — will extend through this final homestand, highlighted by a start at third base Saturday against the Marlins. For the next four nights he is available off the bench to pinch hit, according to manager Mickey Callaway, but unlikely to play on defense. Oddly, Wright is not permitted by team officials to speak with the media before he appears in his final game.
Wright’s separation from the club after this week — not officially a retirement — will be part of a settlement in which the Mets negotiate an agreement with their insurer on the third baseman’s contract. Wright, who is battling spinal stenosis, is owed $27 million after this season, 75 percent of which would have been covered by insurance if he remained on the DL. With a settlement, the Mets will be free to release Wright after the season and regain his 40-man roster spot.
Wright played 12 minor league rehab games in August and has spent the past three weeks working out with the Mets.
“He’s been around a lot more and we’ve played better,” Callaway said.