Vows to return, but no date set

SAN DIEGO — As David Wright began to speak, the Mets clubhouse got very quiet Tuesday. The televisions were muted and players sat quietly watching, some straining to listen, hoping for answers. But David Wright did not come to Petco Park with any clarity about his health.

The injured third baseman said he and doctors are confident he will be back playing baseball this season and it will be “sooner rather than later,” but he had no idea when “sooner” would be.

The 32-year-old third baseman, who is on the disabled list being treated for lumbar spinal stenosis, described himself as “week-toweek,” and admitted he is not returning to the Mets lineup anytime soon.

“There has never been a question in my mind that not only am I going to come back, but that I am going to come back sooner rather than later,” said Wright, speaking to reporters for the first time since the back injury was revealed. “It’s just a matter of being symptomfree and meeting both time requirements and physical requirements in my rehab. “I am just not there right now.” That leaves the Mets still trying to piece together an infield for the near future.

Tuesday night, they continued to ride the hot hand of utility infielder Ruben Tejada, who again played third base against the Padres in the second game of the series at Petco Park.

Sandy Alderson said he’s evaluating the Mets’ options both internally and externally as they wait for Wright.

“We continue to look at external possibilities and weigh those against what we have and obviously the cost in talent for any trade acquisition,” the Mets GM said. “We probably have a little more clarity today than we had say 10 days ago. We are not on the edge of our seat waiting for David to come back at this point.”

In the meantime, the Mets could move Daniel Murphy to third base, his natural position and put Tejada at second.

Alderson said it is possible they could move Wilmer Flores from shortstop to second as well or Dilson Herrera could play there when his broken finger tip heals. Matt Reynolds, the shortstop prospect in Triple-A, could help out as well.

“We don’t want to be moving people around too much until we have a good feel for what we think is a medium-term solution,” Alderson said. “That’s always the trade-off you think about — bringing somebody in who can be an everyday player and David comes back, how does that player fit? At the same time what do we have internally today and what will we have in two weeks when somebody like Herrera is back. Somebody may be performing at Triple-A level so we just have to continue to assess the situation.”

Wright is in a similar holding pattern.

While he feels he has made progress, he still has pain and discomfort in his back after a series of epidural shots last week aimed at reducing the inflammation to the nerves. He has also not been able to pass the physical tests he takes weekly.

The doctors have warned him from constantly asking “how much closer” he is to swinging a bat and told him that they are progressing slowly to prevent him from doing further damage to his back, which would require surgery that would likely end his career.

“There’s a time guideline where you need time for the inflammation to go down and the nerves to be less inflamed, and then there is physical tests that I have to be run through that I have to pass and do well with and I am not there right now,” Wright said. “They run me through the physical tests right now and I just flat out can’t do it.”

While the Mets are confident Wright will come back and play this season, there is no assurance that this condition will not flare up again this season — or during the five years he has remaining on his contract. Alderson said they are not thinking about longterm solutions yet.

“At some point you do have to make a judgment about whether he is going to come back and how effective he is going to be, and we are certainly not at that point yet,” Alderson said. “We’re not looking for his replacement.”