On Sunday, David Wright admitted that perhaps he returned a bit prematurely from the spinal stenonsis that caused him to miss more than four months of the regular season. He told Barry M. Bloom of MLB.com that he will sit down with his doctors during the offseason and determine a routine that will keep him active and productive on a regular basis next season.
“I’m hoping that it continues to get better,” Wright said after the Mets lost the Series to the Royals in five games at Citi Field. “I’m sure there were more things I could have done, more time that I could have missed to try and get it better and better. Unfortunately, in baseball you don’t have the luxury of taking too much time or else you’re going to miss the whole season.
“So I’m hoping that with some more rest, some more doctor consultations and some tests run we can come up with a game plan this offseason so when we start Spring Training it’s even better than it is is now. That’s my goal and I’m hopeful that can be the case.”
Wright, who turns 33 next month, is coming off a poor postseason that saw him bat .185 (10-for-54) in all 14 games with 20 strikeouts. He helped the Mets to their one World Series victory in Game 3 when he went 2-for-5 with a home run and four runs driven in.
But mostly, Wright looked fatigued at the plate and lost some range at third base. He also committed a pair of key errors in the Fall Classic that he probably fields cleanly if he were feeling 100 percent.
To his credit, Wright showed some signs of his former All Star self when he first returned from the DL and homered in his first at-bat. He finished the regular season batting .289 with a .379 OBP and .430 slugging percentage in 30 games. Small sample size, yes, but his .814 OPS was not far from his career .869 mark.
Clearly, Wright is no longer the 7-8 WAR player he used to be, but if he comes close to matching his Steamer projection for 2016, I believe many of us will take it. They have him pegged for 31 doubles, 14 home runs, 8 steals and a .753 OPS which might be a little too conservative in my opinion.
The Mets have him under contract for another six seasons at a total cost of $87 million. He will earn $20 million next season. It’s a huge chunk of change and represents one-third of the $60 million in guaranteed contracts the Mets are committed to for 2016.
Here’s the huge concern as I see it. With the Mets evidently prepared to let Daniel Murphy and Yoenis Cespedes walk this Winter, who is going to replace their 390 hits, 50 home runs, and 190 runs batted in? Does David Wright slip down from the two spot in the order and goes back to occupying a middle of the order power spot, most likely as the number three or five hitter?
Furthermore, lets say Wright can step up and become a presence in that Mets batting order, will he still be able to maintain the day-to-day intensity of challenging for another division title? How many games can the Mets realistically rely on him for in 2016?
Sandy Alderson needs to play this smart – and by smart I mean you can’t head into the offseason down a Murphy and a Cespedes and assume Wright will be penciled in for 145 games next season. You must err on the side of caution under the current circumstances.
According to Bloom’s report, Wright has already told manager Terry Collins to take him out of the lineup when he’s struggling if there’s a better option. He said he certainly doesn’t want to hold the team back. His goal is to win.
While it’s admirable of Wright to end the season on that message, it also shows that even he has some real concerns about his expectations for 2016. Otherwise, why even bring that up?
What about you? What are your expectations moving forward for David Wright, the offseason, and our chances for a second consecutive division title? I look forward to reading your comments.
