David Wright shut down from throwing, might not be ready for Opening Day
The problems keep rolling in for New York Mets third baseman David Wright. After just a few appearances in spring training games, Wright has been shut down from throwing due to a shoulder impingement. He flew to New York for further evaluation.
While there’s no structural damage, he’ll be doing zero throwing over the next few weeks, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said on Tuesday about Wright’s shoulder issue. After that period, Wright won’t be able to put any real strength behind the ball when he throws, so it’ll be awhile before anyone sees him take a position on the field.
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Wright had an injection of platelet-rich plasma into his shoulder a few weeks ago, and Alderson mused to the New York Daily News about why that didn’t work.
“The fact that he had an injection before, to deal with the inflammation, I think reflects the fact that he’s attempted to throw and that the inflammation has persisted,” Alderson said. “The best way to reduce that inflammation was for a PRP [injection]. The fact that it didn’t work the first time, I think is a function of the continued throwing, not the fact that the PRP didn’t work. It’s that the irritation continued based on the throwing program.”
Now that there’s a defined issue with Wright, there’s a lot of news coming out now about what’s been going on with him. But the New York Daily News pointed out that the Mets have been secretive about Wright’s condition and ability to progress during spring training.
It is believed that while Wright has been in Port St. Lucie, he hasn’t been able to progress from simple, short throwing drills. The media has not been able to watch Wright do any throwing drills during spring training.
This new health issue comes after two seasons of limited play for Wright, all due to injury. He missed the majority of the 2015 season after a diagnosis of spinal stenosis. There was hope that Wright could rebound well and make it back to third base for the 2016 season, and he did for a little while. But in May 2016, Wright went on the disabled list with a herniated disc in his neck, and ended up needing surgery. He didn’t play again in 2016. Alderson told the New York Post that the shoulder issue is related to the surgery he had to correct the herniated disc.
Playing in the National League is hard because there’s nowhere for Wright to go. Without the designated hitter, he needs to be able to throw the ball to be in the regular lineup.
Until Wright can get right, the Mets have Jose Reyes ready to play third base. But the Mets might need to start looking for a long-term solution at that position. Two Mets sources told the New York Daily News that the news about Wright is “not good.” The Mets captain is 34 years old and 2017 would be his third straight season of dealing with significant medical issues that have kept him off the field.
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Liz Roscher is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at lizroscher@yahoo.com or follow her on twitter! Follow @lizroscher
