David Wright Shut Down Indefinitely By New York Mets

David Wright’s Comeback From The DL Will Once Again Be Delayed As His Back Pain Has Flared Up Again

It has been a while since anything good has come the New York Mets way in terms of injury news, and they will have to keep waiting as they continue to receive poor news regarding captain and third baseman David Wright. Wright, who was originally placed on the 15-Day DL on April 15th with a hamstring strain, will now be shut down indefinitely with lower back pain, what assistant GM John Ricco said is spinal stenosis.

Spinal stenosis is a narrowing of the spinal cavity in the middle of Wright’s lower back, and that is what is causing the pain, not a disk like originally thought. This is not the first time that Wright has dealt with lower back problems, as he missed two months during the 2011 season with a stress fracture in his lower back. Team doctors determined this wasn’t a repeat of that injury, and it isn’t related.

This is a blow to the reeling Mets, who are now trailing the Nationals by 1.5 games and are only four games over .500. Wright looked close to returning, as he was nearing a rehab assignment when his hamstring was healing up, and then the back pain flared up. That had him shut down until this past week, when he was cleared for baseball activities. That obviously didn’t go well, as Wright will now be shut down indefinitely with more back pain.

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Wright used to be an ironman of sorts for the Mets, but in recent seasons his body has let him down. He doesn’t look to be the same hitter or player that he once was, making the $47 million that he is owed through 2020 that much more of an albatross contract. It also doesn’t help that the Mets don’t have much in the way to replace Wright with currently, as even his backups are getting hurt.

Dilson Herrera was brought up from the minor leagues to try and jump start the lineup, but had to go on the DL himself when he broke his finger. That forced the Mets to once again go to Eric Campbell as the starting third baseman, with Daniel Murphy moving back to second base.

Wright may not be the same player he was a couple of seasons ago, but having him in the lineup is much better than having him on the DL. He brings leadership to the clubhouse, and lengthens the Mets lineup. It was a very small sample size, but this season Wright was slashing a very encouraging .333/.371/.424 and the Mets were winning. Losing that production, along with Travis d’Arnaud going down, the Mets lost a lot of production, weakening what was beginning to look like a strong lineup top to bottom.

Through 43 games, the Mets haven’t gotten much production from their third baseman, as they are hitting only .263 with two home runs and 15 RBI; Wright has one home run and four RBI in only 33 at-bats, which speaks volumes to what the Mets are missing without him in the lineup.

They will have to figure out something to do in the mean time to try and replace him, as Wright doesn’t look like he will be returning to the lineup any time soon to save the day.

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