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David Wright Feels Pretty Good After First Rehab Game

By John Sheridan

August 22, 2017 3 Comments

Mets Captain David Wright took the first step towards a hopeful return to the Mets by serving as the St. Lucie Mets designated hitter. Wright was 0-4 in the game with two strikeouts.

Ultimately, this assignment isn’t about results inasmuch as it is about Wright’s ability to play the game.

Make no mistake, Wright can still hit, and he was able to DH in Spring Training.  To that end, Wright is a 119 OPS+ and a 125 wRC+ hitter since 2015.

The real issue is whether he can play in the field. Last we heard, Wright is still unable to make the necessary throws to first. There is also some debate with the stenosis and neck surgeries if he can field a major league position.

Where Wright goes from here is still a mystery. There’s about a week-and-a-half left in the minor league season limiting his chances to get up to game speed, even if that means the goal is for him to return to the Mets this September as a pinch hitter.

With that said, it’s great to see Wright take the field again, and it’s great to hear his back felt “pretty good.”  In his postgame interview, Wright noted:

Biggest thing with me is making sure – coming off major neck surgery, you know I got this back thing going on, and obviously with my shoulder, you know caused by the neck surgery, I got some ailments that I need to overcome to be able to go out there and produce. And that’s what I want to do. I don’t want to come back for the sake of coming back. I want to come back, if I get ready, if I start showing better results out here, and then we talk about what the next step is.

Overall, Wright acknowledges his health and his not having played in a year are are significant hurdles to overcome.  Ultimately, while Wright wants to play with the Mets again this year, his focus will be on improving, getting himself in playing condition, and of course, his health.

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