New York Mets third baseman, David Wright, was diagnosed with Spinal Stenosis and shut down in his rehab process for the foreseeable future.
By Robby Sabo
During the winter of 2012, New York Mets general manager Sandy Alderson had a decision to make.
This decision, was one that 99 percent of the fan-base were all for. The signing of franchise third-baseman David Wright to an 8-year, $138 million contract.
Since (and even prior to 2012), Wright has come up well short of the lofty expectations placed on him. The only season worthy of this All-Star status was 2012 in which he hit .306 with 21 home runs and 93 runs batted in.
2013 saw Wright 112 games and in 2014, just 134 games. And although he made the All-Star game in 2013, he managed to hit 18 home runs and drive in only 58 runs.
Now, at 32-years of age, Wright has been on the shelf since the second-week of the season, and today, it has been announced that he’s been permanently shut down due to a serious condition known as Spinal Stenosis – the same condition former Met Lenny Dykstra was diagnosed with and later forced into an early retirement.
After today’s 8-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates – with Matt Harvey getting pounded – the Mets are now 24-20, and 1.5 games out of first place.
The cold hard truth that Alderson, and all Mets fans must face, is Wright can no longer be relied upon. The inconsistencies since getting beamed in the head by a Matt Cain fastball back in 2009 are real, and unfortunate.
From this point forward, no longer can the Mets brass pretend Wright is a mainstay in the lineup. Despite the financial commitment, when evaluating the diamond, Alderson must view Wright as a bonus, not a reliable asset.
How could he?
It feels like the only person more injury prone than Jose Reyes (since his departure from New York), is Wright himself.
With a tremendous trio, and soon to be foursome in the rotation – Matt Harvey, Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz – the Mets have splendid future. One, though, that has to be built without Wright in mind.
If he does find his way back, then great. They cannot rely upon it though.
That role as cornerstone everyday player must go to players like Lucas Duda, Travis d’Arnaud, Juan Legares, Kevin Plawecki and eventual incomers like Matt Reynolds, Dilson Herrera, Michael Conforto and Kevin Nimmo.
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