With just 75 games played over the past two seasons due to back and neck injuries, David Wright isn’t expected to take part in every game the Mets play this season. The fans that once looked to the seven-time All-Star to carry the franchise are now just happy to see him in the lineup on a regular basis.
When we found out about Wright throwing a baseball over the weekend, it gave us hope that maybe he could man the hot corner in April. That may still happen, but he won’t be able to do so in a spring training game for at least three more weeks.
According to Mets manager Terry Collins, Wright will begin Grapefruit League action at DH before hopefully transitioning to third base later in the spring training schedule.
“He is making strides,” Collins said. “You are looking at, three weeks from today we will have a real good idea where he is at. That gives him a lot of time to lengthen himself out.
“He’s not going to play a lot of third base, he is going to get a ton of ground balls, as much as we can get him, but he probably won’t play a lot until we make sure his arm is right, so he is going to DH and go to the minor leagues and get at-bats, and he wants it.”
“We just don’t want him overexposed where if he makes a bad throw all of a sudden it’s a big story,” Collins said.
Collins should know that no matter what the Mets do with Wright, it will end up being a big story. Hopefully the priority is on the captain’s long-term health. Fans will get their first chance to see Wright in action when New York opens Grapefruit League play on Friday against Boston. The Port St. Lucie opener and first SNY broadcast on the season will be on Saturday against Washington.