Hold on a second
As Wright gets another opinion, captain remains on Mets’ minds
PORT ST. LUCIE — Jose Reyes sent a rrecent text message to David Wright, tellingtel his friend and teammate to take it slowslo recovering from his latest setback.
“Just get healthy and don’t try to rushru anything,” Reyes said Wednesday. “WWhen you rush, you are going to have a lot of setbacks.”
A day after he was diagnosed by team doctorsdo in New York with an impingement in his right shoulder and told to shutsh down his throwing program, Wright remainedre away from the Mets as he soughtso a second opinion on his diagnosis,sis according to an industry source.
Wright will not begin throwing for at leastlea two weeks, and the Mets are preparedpa to open the season with Reyes as theirth third baseman. It’s a situation that hasha become all too common in the Mets’ clubhouseclu over the past two seasons, a spansp in which Wright has played just 75 gamesga because of injuries.
The Mets have a significant veteran presencepr in their clubhouse, from Reyes to Curtis Granderson, Neil Walker, Jay BruceB Br and Asdrubal Cabrera, but there is onlyon one team captain — a title Wright assumedssas in 2013, after he had received an eight-gyeareig contract worth $138 million.
“Any time any little thing goes wrong, we all look to him for any advice or any wisdom,”wi Travis d’Arnaud said. “He is suchusu a great person who knows so much, he e is also willing to share all his knowledgeded with everybody.”
But given the number of veterans on hisishi roster, manager Terry Collins is more concernedco with losing a potentially productivedu player than a leader.
“These guys have been here, and they knowkn what it’s like to play in New York, theythe handle everything fine,” Collins said. “TThe clubhouse is not my concern. My cconcern is to hopefully get David Wright back and get him healthy and get him in the lineup. If he’s doing what we think he can do, what we’ve seen in the past, he’s got to still be a big part of this team.
“It’s just right now we’ve got to be patient enough and we’re going to ask these veterans to step up, which they did last year when it was crunch time. They stepped up and got the job done.”
Wright missed the final four months of last season after undergoing surgery for a herniated disk in his neck. The previous year he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis, a condition he continues to manage through physical therapy and various exercises.
“The little time I was there in New York [last year], every time he was there in the stadium it was like a different feeling, having him around,” said Reyes, who returned to the Mets in July. “It’s a tough situation, with everything he’s been through, and we want him to be part of this team and the team that we have and he’s been here for a long time now.
“To go through what he’s gone through the last few years and not be part of this in the beginning, all the way through, is the tough part. We need him around, there is no doubt.”
But Reyes says he will tell Wright — who is still allowed to take at-bats — not to rush.
“The last two years he hasn’t played too much, so I know that he is excited to be back on the field,” Reyes said. “But at the same time you have to be smart. You have to feel good to perform good on the field. You don’t want to go 60 percent, because you want to be there. We want the healthy David Wright.”
o mpuma@nypost.com