Written by Mike Fizpatrick at YahooSports.com
Now it’s certain: David Wright will be sidelined for the foreseeable future.
That’s a scenario the New York Mets have become painfully familiar with the past few years.
Wright had surgery Thursday to repair a herniated disk in his neck, and it’s unclear how long the oft-injured third baseman might be out. The team did not provide an estimated timeframe for Wright’s potential return, but the 33-year-old captain is expected to miss most of the remainder of the season – perhaps all of it.
”I think as an organization we’ve got to say it’s going to be quite a while,” manager Terry Collins said. ”Even if it’s two months out, you’re still talking about September, where you can increase the rosters anyway. So we’ve got to certainly make sure we consider ourselves, until September, that he’s not going to be around.”
Wright’s replacement at third, Wilmer Flores, was hit by a 93 mph fastball from Pittsburgh starter Juan Nicasio on Thursday night and left the game an inning later with a bruised left hand. X-rays were negative, the team said.
In other injury news for the banged-up Mets, part-time center fielder Juan Lagares was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to Wednesday, with a sprained left thumb. Utility player Ty Kelly was recalled from Triple-A Las Vegas.
Wright, signed through 2020, had a cervical discectomy and fusion performed by Dr. Robert Watkins in Marina del Rey, California. In a statement, the team said the decision to have surgery was made ”after weeks of tests, rest, and anti-inflammatory injections to alleviate pain and improve his mobility.”
The seven-time All-Star went on the disabled list June 3, retroactive to May 30.
