David Wright to begin rehab assignment, could rejoin Mets sometime in August

How’s this for a late-season addition?

The New York Mets announced Sunday that David Wright will begin a rehab assignment Monday with the hope of getting their star third baseman back before the end of August.

Wright has been out since April 15 and has only played eight games in 2015. Initially sidelined with a strained right hamstring, it was later discovered Wright was suffering from spinal stenosis – the narrowing of space in the spine. The condition affects his lower back and he’s undergone physical therapy for most of the summer to try to get back into game shape.

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The plan is for Wright to DH on Monday and play third base Tuesday for Single-A St. Lucie and get 30 at-bats over the course of his rehab before heading up to rejoin the big-league club.

Even without Wright for much of the year, the Mets are squarely in the postseason hunt. They entered play Monday in first place in the NL East, leading the Washington Nationals by 1 1/2 games.

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It’s easy to forget how productive Wright has been when healthy. Since 2005, an average season for him looks like this: .299/.379/.492 with 22 home runs and 19 stolen bases, which is good for a fWAR of 5. Those are mighty fine numbers by any standard.

New York has been using Juan Uribe at third since acquiring him from Atlanta in late July. Uribe has been a steady and capable replacement, but it’ll be a great plus for them to insert a player of Wright’s caliber into the lineup soon as they attempt to shock the world and hold off the Nationals in the division.

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Israel Fehr is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter. Follow @israelfehr