Mets news: Alderson says Wright could return sooner rather than later

David Wright‘s spinal stenosis should be manageable, and he could return sooner than some are anticipating, Sandy Alderson told reporters prior to Monday’s game.

Wright, who was shut down from baseball activity on Saturday due to a recurrence of lower-back discomfort, will travel to California this week to do additional physical therapy on his back.

Alderson noted that surgery is not on the table for Wright, and that none of the doctors the team has consulted with have given any indication that Wright’s spinal stenosis will be a long term problem.

Wright initially landed on the disabled list on April 15 due to a strained right hamstring, and began experiencing lower-back discomfort a few weeks ago.

The hamstring is fully healed and is no longer a concern, Alderson said last week.

Thoughts:

When you hear the words ‘spinal stenosis,’ a condition that is a narrowing of the spine, it immediately makes you fear the worst regarding the future of both Wright and the Mets.

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Shortly after the news about Wright’s spinal stenosis came out, it was noted that it’s the same condition that ended former-Met Lenny Dykstra‘s career at the age of 35 and led to Don Mattingly‘s relatively early retirement.

However, each individual is different, and the severity of each diagnosis is different.

Seeing what Alderson said on Monday, the situation with Wright seems a lot less dire than some have been suggesting. Still, it will be impossible to feel at ease with all of this until Wright actually returns to the Mets.

For now, Wright will continue strengthening exercises in Caifornia, and there will hopefully be more clarity — and positive news — in the coming days.

Even if Wright gets back on the field in a week, you have to figure that he’s still two to three weeks away from returning.