David Wright Has A Shoulder Impingement, Opening Day Is Now 'Questionable'
Has there ever been a player who has been so beloved, yet so fragile at the same time? Mets fans love David Wright. And I mean, they absolutely should. Look at what he’s done throughout his career when he’s been healthy. But in some cases — maybe even most — the hometown fans grow tired of injury after injury, regardless of past performance. In the case of Wright, I think we all just kind of feel bad. I say “we” here, because I think Wright is a guy who is, at the very least, appreciated and respected by baseball fans outside of Queens.
I was at the Barstool office last week, and I jumped on Barstool Radio with Pres and Big Cat to take a couple baseball calls. We got a call from a Mets fan who set the over/under at 40 games played for Wright in 2017. Wright played 38 games in 2015, and 37 games last year. I took the over, but barely. After dealing with a shoulder injury early last season, and a herniated disc in his neck that derailed the rest of his season not long after, the string of injuries continues for Wright, who is already in danger of missing games in 2017, and the season hasn’t even started yet.
Then, the caller brought up a good point, which is going to be a tough pill for Mets fans to swallow — at what point is Wright being on the Mets’ roster actually hurting the team instead of helping? Of course, Wright can’t be a detriment to the team if he’s on the disabled list, unless you’re talking financially. The caller meant more in terms of Wright taking up a roster spot when he’s “healthy” enough to be on the 25-man roster, but still underperforming like he did last year. In 2016, Wright hit .226 with a .788 OPS. It was his least productive season ever at the big league level (-0.2 WAR).
If the health issues and decline in performance continue for Wright, who still has four years and $67 million remaining on his contract, things are going to get awkward. I’ve seen this before on a smaller scale with Mike Lowell in Boston. Lowell wasn’t the homegrown superstar that Wright is in Queens, but he was a tremendous fan favorite in Boston, especially after being named the 2007 World Series MVP.
But it all kind of unraveled pretty quickly for him at the end, in terms of his health and production. Manager Terry Francona was put in an awkward spot, trying to find him at-bats when he wasn’t really producing enough to earn all that many, plus the team had Adrian Beltre at third base (Lowell’s primary position), Kevin Youkilis at first base (Lowell’s second position that he tried to play to increase his playing time), and David Ortiz at DH (and, yeah).
Right now, it seems like Jose Reyes will be the guy at third base if Wright is unable to play, and he’s more than capable of being an adequate everyday player in that Mets lineup. Wright has only ever played a position other than third base twice at the major league level (shortstop), and the Mets don’t have the benefit of getting him regular at-bats as a DH in the National League.
With arguably the best rotation in baseball, the Mets should be in a “win now” mindset. If Reyes is playing well to start the season, then that might mean that it’s best for the team to keep Wright and his hefty contract on the bench once he’s healthy enough to return. And I’m sure he’ll understand. He’d have to, especially after how the last two seasons have gone for him. But if that scenario unfolds, then that is also when the discussion begins — is Wright simply just taking up a roster spot that could be occupied by someone else who could give the Mets a better chance to win?