At least the Mets had a few days to get used to the idea of life without David Wright.
And now it looks like it’s going to happen.
According to multiple reports, including FOX Sports Ken Rosenthal, the Mets third baseman will be out an “extended period” due to the herniated disk in his neck he suffered last weekend against the Dodgers.
“The condition he is in right now, I’m concerned about it,” Collins said earlier this week. “I know this guy plays with a lot of discomfort. When he can’t play, he is hurt.”
Wright also expressed concern.
“It’s been a few days now,” Wright told reporters of the neck issue after Saturday’s game. “If I’m physically able to go out there and help the team, I try to do that. But if I can’t help the team, then I can’t go out there and play.”
Wright received a cortisone shot in the neck to see if that helps his bulging disk. Unfortunately, this hasn’t relieved the problem.
This comes at the worst time for the Mets, who are struggling to score runs – with just six scored in the last three games against the White Sox. Even though Wright was hitting just .226, his power was coming around and hit three home runs in his last three games.
Now Wright will have to battle this issue as well as his spinal stenosis that has limited him since being diagnosed last season.
If Wright goes in the DL tomorrow, Matt Reynolds is expected to take his slot. However, he is not a long term solution by any means.
Unlike losing Lucas Duda at first base, there is no James Loney, who can be easily acquired to fill Wright’s spot at third. There aren’t any internal options, unless you want to roll the dice with career minor leaguer T.J. Rivera. The trade market hasn’t opened up yet.
In a perfect world, the Mets would go out and reacquire a player like Juan Uribe or Kelly Johnson, but Cleveland or Atlanta would hold the Mets over a barrel, since they know they desperately need a major leaguer.
Wilmer Flores is a major leaguer, but even though the crying incident endeared him to Met fans, he lost his job to Ruben Tejada last season and struggled in the “Super Joe McEwing” role the team wanted him in this year. He will probably get the main starts at third for now.
What makes life even more difficult is that they are forced to catch Rene Rivera and Kevin Plawecki, both of whom are hitting under .200. The Mets can’t afford to have another automatic out in the lineup.
But maybe Reynolds or Ty Kelly can catch fire for a month and fill the gap. Unfortunately, there’s a reason why these players haven’t been called up to the majors as of yet and they may be easily exposed.
And if Flores starts every day, the bench becomes very thin, something that was a weak spot going into this season.
So it’s not going to get easier for the Mets, who are going away for 10 games after a 2-4 homestand.
Now they don’t have their captain for the foreseeable future.
No one said defending the NL Crown would be easy.