New York Mets: Time to ease David Wright into retirement

It’s time for the New York Mets to end the comeback of David Wright and help ease him into the retirement phase of his life.

Who doesn’t love David Wright? Every single New York Mets fan has a special place in their heart for Wright and with good reason. He has been the perfect face of the franchise from Flushing, NY. Wright performed well on the field and represented the team off the field with gusto. He never got in trouble and always had that boyish smile. David Wright will always be our guy.

The injury situation has been so unfortunate. No Wright is not the first to go through it but he doesn’t deserve it. All Wright wanted to do was win a championship with the Mets and he hasn’t been able to. Imagine the joy we would all feel to see David Wright host the trophy over his head after the Mets win it all one day. That would be special.

And despite the setbacks he is still trying to come back. Late in June he was seen at the ballpark taking batting practice. As a human being and as a fan of Wright, who wouldn’t be happy about that? All he wants to do is play again and help this team. Every fan of this team would shed a tear to hear his name announced just one more time.

Despite all of that, despite all of our love for David Wright, this needs to stop. It is time to recognize the inevitable. For the good of the franchise the Mets need to ease Wright into retirement.

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Now this is not to say that David would be bad for the team. It would be exactly the opposite. In the short term Wright would generate some excitement around the franchise. Fans would return in droves to see him play again.

But for the long term it isn’t so smart. The Mets are trying to rebuild. Yes John Ricco believes that the team can rebuild quickly. It’s still a rebuild and that means wholesale changes to the roster.

Look at how the Mets have handled the third base position since Wright became injured. They have used utility type players like Wilmer Flores. These are players that play all over but aren’t the every day answer at one position.

This year they went the veteran route by bringing in Todd Frazier. He’s a sufficient answer for now but he is still a bridge to the next generation. Frazier won’t be on the roster long term. At 32 years old currently he will decline by the time a long-term contract would come to an end. He is signed through next year so a new contract would start at age 34. That’s not a long-term starter.

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New York needs to turn the corner and start to develop a young third baseman, just the way they did with Wright. Wright should absolutely stay in the organization in some role. Frankly it should be any type of coaching position he wants, preferably with the big league club. He should write his own ticket as an employee. That is the respect that David Wright deserves.

But let’s move on from bringing him back to play third. For the good of the franchise it’s time to get to the next guy.

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