Mets third baseman David Wright shuts down rehab, will be re-examined in New York

The captain was doing so well, but he’s again suffered another setback.

Mets third baseman David Wright played in back-to-back games at third base this past week, and we all thought he was feeling fine. Unfortunately, that just doesn’t seem to be the case.

The captain issued a statement about his decision to terminate his rehab program on Monday evening.

“After playing in a few games, I continued to have shoulder pain. So I decided to go to the doctor and get it checked out. Will make any decisions going forward after my appointment.”

Wright will be re-examined sometime this week back in New York, and will hopefully get some type of resolution so both he and the team know what to expect going forward.

The 34-year-old third baseman has worked his tail off to try to get back out on the field. He’s battled through spinal stenosis, surgery to repair a herniated disc, and most recently an impingement in his right shoulder.

This last issue seems to be what’s really brought down David’s playing ability. If he’s unable to throw without pain, he just won’t be able to play the field. For Wright, this latest setback has to be one of the hardest because he was actually able to get back out there with the St. Lucie Mets for a handful of games before succumbing to the shoulder pain.

Mets general manager Sandy Alderson has talked openly about not knowing what the team can get out of Wright at this point in his career, and having to go out and look for a full-time third baseman this offseason. It’s obvious the captain wanted to make that search irrelevant by at least being able to complete the season in some form of rehab games.

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Depending on what the doctors tell Wright, we may either see him announce he’s giving it another go or that he may once and for all hang up his cleats. None of us want him to have to go out like this – being forced out of a game he played so well because of injury – but at some point, he’s going to have to be realistic with his own self about what he can and can’t do going forward. Maybe he’ll end up as the next Mets manager. I, for one, would love nothing more than that.