Mets’ Wright: does the end start here?

The dust is beginning to settle from last week’s news that David Wright would be lost for another 6-8-week span.

There’s been a dark cloud hanging over the Mets and Wright for a long time now. It’s been there since Wright’s bout with spinal stenosis a year ago.

At that time, Mets fans started to seriously question whether Wright would ever be the same. For a while, on a lot of days, it seemed like he could. On other days, things got ugly and the end seemed more imminent. Still, it seemed like every time someone wrote Wright off, he’d go out and have a positive day at the plate.

By now we’ve all heard the stories about what Wright has had to do simply to get on the field every day and we respected him for it. We’ve cringed this year as he struggled to throw runners out and struggled at the plate, striking out at an alarming rate. Fans saw the writing on the wall, and last Thursday that writing was in bold type.

When the news came in that Wright had a herniated disk in his neck, there wasn’t much surprise in Metville, only sadness. If all goes well, Wright will be out until sometime in August as he has once again been shut down from any baseball activities. Emotions aside, what does this mean for the Mets going forward in 2016 and beyond?

The obvious initial reaction is to once again clamor for Daniel Murphy. There is no doubt he would have come in handy for this situation, but he is gone, so please try to resist getting wrapped up in that again. In the meantime, Wilmer Flores will have another shot at a full-time job. He deserves that after a solid 2015 and his willingness to play wherever needed.

Flores has been less than stellar this season as he moved into a super-utility-man role. He isn’t going to put up Daniel Murphy 2016 numbers but if he plays to the back of his baseball card, he will match or exceed the numbers that Wright had been putting up. In the interim, the Mets can make do with Flores manning the hot corner but the loss means more than just who will man third.

Without Wright at the top of the lineup, the Mets can now make Asdrubal Cabrera a permanent fixture in the 2-hole in front of Michael Conforto (assuming he gets back on track at the plate). It was becoming painfully obvious that the Mets could not rely on Wright in that spot like they used to as he had already amassed 55 strikeouts in just 137 at-bats this year.

Losing Wright also means that they lose his presence in the clubhouse. This is probably the biggest loss caused by this situation. The Mets however, are not lacking in the leadership department past Wright. Curtis Granderson is most likely to be in-line to pick up the slack gathered in Wright’s absence. He is a well-respected fixture on the team, now in his third year with the squad.

Will Wright play again this year? That’s anybody’s guess at this point. He proved critics wrong by coming back last year after the stenosis diagnosis. Still, there are only so many times a person can get on the comeback trail and Wright needs to realize that if this trend continues, it will only hurts the organization that he loves.

Next: Mets Twitter reacts to Kelly Johnson trade

Keeping a player of Wright’s salary and authority on the team will only create uncomfortable situations when he can’t perform like he once did. That can’t happen with the Mets fighting for a championship. Things can only get worse as he ages and breaks down, body part by body part. Perhaps Wright should take a cue from his good friend Michael Cuddyer and consider hanging up his cleats for the betterment of the team.

While he hasn’t won a championship with the club (yet), David Wright has been the face of the franchise since his arrival in 2005. If anyone has the drive to fight back and continue to play, it’s Wright. After all, he’s been buried prematurely before and where there’s a will there’s a way. Let’s just hope his pride doesn’t overshadow his senses at the peril of the franchise.

Edit: The Mets have just reacquired Kelly Johnson from the Braves. It is unknown at this time what role he will play as he has primarily been a second baseman.