When David Wright went on the disabled list in April with initially a hamstring injury and then what turned into spinal stenosis, Mets fans weren't sure if they would ever see him back on the field in 2015. If he did return, no one was sure what Wright would bring to the field, if he would be a productive everyday player.
While Wright's health may be a question mark for the rest of his career because of his spinal stenosis condition, his numbers since returning from the disabled list are nothing to sneeze at. In 87 plate appearances since being activated on August 24, the 32-year-old is batting .289/.379/.434 with two home runs and six RBIs in 18 games.
He began his return triumphantly when he homered into the upper deck at Citizens Bank Park in his first at-bat against the Phillies' Adam Morgan. Since then, however, he has just one home run. Extra-base hits have been hard to come by in general for Wright; of his 22 hits since returning, 15 have been singles.
While he may not be hitting for power, he is racking up hits and getting on base. He has only gone hitless in four games since his return, with nine multiple-hit games. He has also drawn 11 walks in those 87 trips to the plate. Overall the Mets are 13-5 with Wright back in the lineup, though plenty of players deserve credit for the team's won-lost record.
Even if Wright is not the middle-of-the-order bat that the Mets hoped he'd be, the addition of Yoenis Cespedes, the return of Travis d'Arnaud, and the arrival of Michael Conforto have allowed Wright to slide into the lineup without undue pressure on him to perform as he did at the peak of his career.