According to general manager Sandy Alderson, the New York Mets will continue to be cautious with third baseman David Wright this season in terms of playing time.
“We’re going to make sure that he’s not overworked,” Alderson told the New York Post. “So it’s important for us to find somebody who can play 30 games or so at third base when he’s not in there. But I think we have to be realistic, and not expect that he’s gonna be an absolute everyday [player] out there playing 150 or 155 games. That’s not gonna happen.”
The goal for Wright, said Alderson, is 130 games or so.
As for who fills in at third base when, Alderson explained that switch-hitters Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker could shift to third base against right-handed pitching when Wright will likely be rested, while Wilmer Flores will cover him against left-handed pitching.
“We don’t have that many left-handed hitters right now, so it’s something we may look out for in the course of spring training. But we’ll have Flores, we’ll have Ruben Tejada, we’ve got Matt]Reynolds, Eric Campbell can play third base — we’ve got a lot of people that can play third, it’s just a question of getting the right match-up.”
After being diagnosed with spinal stenosis, Wright was limited to just 38 games last season in which he batted .289/.379/.434 with five home runs. He spoke about that to the Post on Friday.
“Last year personally for me was a nightmare, having gone through the back thing and knowing this is going to be a challenge for the rest of my career, that sucked for me personally.”
But the team captain expects to have a better handle on the condition, fully understanding he can’t overdo it as far as pressing to hard.
