Star Mets third baseman David Wright, who has been diagnosed with a condition called spinal stenosis, joined GM Sandy Alderson in addressing the situation with the media yesterday (via Newsday’s Mark Carig). While Alderson says the club is “comfortable” in expecting that Wright will return, it also appears more and more likely that the problem will be a concern even if he does make it back to action.
“It literally is a week-to-week process,” Wright said, explaining that he is regularly undergoing tests of his back condition that must be passed before he can even begin working back to on-field action. “I’m not there right now,” he said. “They run me through the tests and I flat-out can’t do it.”
Surgery is only on the table as a last resort, in the event that rehabilitation proves unavailing. “There’s never been a question in my mind that not only am I going to come back but I want to come back sooner rather than later,” Wright said. “It’s just a matter of being symptom-free.”
In spite of that positivity, and Alderson’s statement that he was not planning to go outside the organization to find a replacement, the GM hinted at an uncertain (and possibly lengthy) timeline when he said the team is “not on the edge of our seat waiting for David to come back.” And he acknowledged the long-term concerns: “I’m not sure we can have any assurance at this point that when he comes back it will be incident-free for the rest of the season.”
Wright is earning $20MM this year and is promised an additional $87MM from 2016-2020. While the club reportedly has insurance that would cover a significant portion of that tab if Wright misses a large chunk of time, that would not offer much relief if he is able to play but can’t return to his former levels (or if, say, he needs scattered DL stints to deal with flare-ups).
In the immediate term, the team does have options, as David Lennon writes for Newsday. Daniel Murphy can occupy third, with some combination of Wilmer Flores, Ruben Tejada, and Dilson Herrera (when he returns from his own injury) playing up the middle. Or, of course, a more established option could be added at the deadline. Regardless, it would now seem a major surprise if Murphy — who has sometimes been discussed as a trade chip — was to be made available this summer.
Trade him to an American League team , then he’ll just DH and not risk any Injury to back playing and bending over in the field and his Quality of Life down the Road .
35 errors and 110 games per year isnt worth $20mm
What are you suggesting?
That’s he not what he used to Be ?
Is anyone? I refuse to speculate on David’s numbers because no one knows whats going to happen.
23-16 w/o wright
35 errors?
Mets should Trade David to American League team ( Detroit ), where he can just Dh, and saves his back from bending over and jumping, Plus his Quality of Life when he retires in two or three years .
Víctor Martínez?
Spinal stenosis might not even allow for that. This is career threatening
A friend of mine had spinal stenosis several years ago before he passed away. It is not always just a matter of bending and jumping. As a matter fact many times bending forward helps the pain because it increases the space between the vertebrae and reduces the amount of pinching on the nerve root. This is not something that always goes away easily. It could linger on for years and years and surgery isn’t always successful. My friend had trouble walking, problems with clumsiness (tripping, bumping into things, dropping items etc) and was in severe pain most of the time. No amount of anti-inflammatory drugs or therapy worked and neither did surgery.
I guess we all need to pray for David then , just returning to Baseball but for his Health !
It’s quite possible he has had this for years. It’s not always easy to diagnose. Spinal stenosis is quite often misdiagnosed unless it is accompanied by pain in the back of the legs, but that doesn’t always happen. My friend had spinal stenosis for at least five years before it was correctly diagnosed. Some people do manage to overcome it with certain physical therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs and things as simple as changing their posture but I imagine it’s going to be much harder for an athlete. Some people never overcome it.
Ryan Howard is taking ground balls at third, I hear….
It’s takes 18 months to Two years for a complete recovery from a Serious Achilles injury, I know I suffered thru one and I an’t an athlete. He moving better than ever, But I would race him against an 80 Year Old White Man.But I would race against a 39 year old First baseman from Boston !
Ben Zobrist is the answer. He can play 3rd. If Wright returns he can be moved anywhere, depending on who is doing the worst offensively. They need a nice bat like that and some versatility.
His health, what he would cost, and whether or not he can actually play 3rd (I don’t doubt it, but he’s only ever played 4 games there) are considerations. Could also move Murphy to 3rd and put Zobrist at 2nd.
Ramirez is the better answer from Boston for Gee or Niese ! Both teams win,The Red Sox get an Arm ,the Mets get a bat who can play 3rd and PLT. against left pitching with Duda at first. Mets need insurance against Wright not ever coming back to level he was before.
I think the Mets need an all star third baseman
Joey gallo? 😀
They can have one with Tulo for some young pitchers.
I had and still have Cervical Spinal Stenosis. I had surgery 5 yrs ago and it fixed nothing, actually made me worse.
I also had a fusion, which many people suffering with stenosis have to get. I now will be needing more surgery soon. If David has the surgery I had, I don’t see him playing at all this season, and maybe never again. I wish him the best and hope therapy will be all he needs. The surgery is brutal
What bad American League contract can the Mets swap Wright for? Sadly he needs to DH if he hopes to continue his career. Mauer? Hanley? LaRoche? Choo?
I always liked david wright. Plays the game the right way, keeps his nose out of trouble, and represents the game well. Not to mention he played his entire career thus far with a single team – that doesn’t happen often anymore.
I’ve found myself thinking about him and the injury way more than I ever thought I would. My heart goes out to him and I hope for a recovery, whether that recovery allows him to continue his career or just allows him to live out his life pain free and happy. I really hope he can rehab his way back to playing and not require surgery just yet. Having the game you have lived your entire life for be stripped away from you, requiring a painful and taxing surgery, and the pain killers and rehab that accompany such a surgery mean that he may have a long and difficult road back to normalcy. Best wishes david.