David Wright looks on during batting practice.
(Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, N.Y. – Chesapeake native David Wright has played in just 75 games since the start of the 2015 Major League Baseball season. He won’t see the field in 2017.
Wright will have surgery to repair his right rotator cuff Tuesday in New York, ending any chance of him playing for the Mets this season. He ended his rehab assignment last month due to shoulder pain.
Shoulder, back and neck issues have hampered Wright the past three years. Spinal stenosis, a narrowing of the spinal column that will affect him for the rest of his life, limited him during 2015. The next year, Wright had a procedure to repair a herniated disk in his neck.
New York manager Terry Collins tells MLB.com the 34 year old is not hanging up his spikes just yet.
David Wright of the New York Mets. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
“The one thing I can tell you is that during our discussions, he just said, ‘Look, I think I still have something to offer and I’ve got to give myself that chance to see if I could do it,'” Collins told reporter Anthony DiComo. “We sit back as people who watched him when he was the best, and say, ‘Why would you go through it?’ I just think this guy’s heart’s still in it.”
In 13 seasons, Wright has 242 career home runs and 970 career runs batted in. However, injuries have hampered him the past several seasons. Wright played in just 38 games in 2015 and only 37 in ’16.
According to Spotrac, the Mets owe the seven-time All-Star $47 million from 2018 to 2020.
Wright, the Hickory High School alumnus, has not played in a major league game since May 27, 2016. On April 19, 2017, the Mets transferred Wright to the 60 day disabled list as he recovers from a cervical disc herniation.
