David Wright made his Grapefruit League debut on Saturday by DH-ing out of the cleanup spot. He went 0-for-2, but made solid contact as the Mets’ faithful gave him standing ovations for facing game-pitching for the first time since May.
And just a couple days later, news broke that a shoulder injury would leave his Opening Day readiness in question.
There’s no question that those standing O’s were driven by love for Wright, who is in a category with guys like Tom Seaver and Mike Piazza who can do no wrong by the Mets’ fanbase. And that’s well-deserved; Wright is the Mets’ franchise leader in most major offensive categories, and is by all accounts a good clubhouse guy. If the team does right by him (no pun intended), they’ll put his No. 5 next to Seaver’s and Piazza’s retired numbers one day.
But it’s time to be honest about what David Wright is now, and he may not be the middle-of-the-order guy we all know and love from 2006: David Wright is 34 years old. He has two serious injuries in his back and neck that will linger on. He might not be ready for Opening Day, and even if he is it’s reasonable to believe this will only be a temporary stay before his next injury.
He has played in just 75 total regular season games over the last two seasons, and more than 140 games just once since 2011. In the 37 games he did play in last season, he batted just .226/.350/.438. And it was clear to any observer that his swing got slower, and that he had lost a step or two in the field. He might be making $20 million this year, but that doesn’t mean he’s a 20 million dollar-player anymore.
David Wright is not a middle-of-the-order hitter at this stage in his career. Plain and simple. And it’s time for Terry Collins to acknowledge this.
Wright hasn’t had a fully healthy season since 2012, and has been sidelined for over three-quarters of the last two seasons. And given his recent track record, it’s only reasonable to believe that he will miss time again this year.
And even in the sparing instances in which when he has played recently, he has not produced like the Wright of 2008. In 209 games since 2014, Wright has batted just .266/.339/.396 with 20 home runs and 94 RBIs– does that sound like a guy who should be hitting cleanup.
That doesn’t mean that Wright can’t contribute anything to the team, or that he won’t be able to work his way back to the middle one day soon. He’s under contract with the Mets for another four seasons, so unless Wright retires he won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. So the Mets will have to live with him and make amends with whatever he can do. And given his track record as a competitor and one of the most talented players in team history, maybe he can.
But his recent rap sheet shows that he can’t be given that presumption right out of the Port St. Lucie gates– especially after his most recent injury. If he’s healthy, he probably belongs at the lower-end of the lineup, and should honestly be on a short-ish leash to keep his starting third base job.
Jose Reyes is a capable starting third baseman, and he is not nearly as much of an injury liability as Wright is at this stage in his career. In fact, if Wright starts the season and Reyes does well for him in his absence, maybe it’s time to start thinking about a permanent change at third base.
So, in short: David Wright will probably have his number retired by the Mets one day. But that retirement will have been earned mostly by feats that have already taken place. Not by much that is yet to happen.
