David Wright’s latest injury is reason to worry about his future

The New York Mets announced today that third baseman David Wright will head to the disabled list and miss 6-8 weeks of playing time.

David Wright’s injury will require 6-8 weeks of rest from baseball activities during which he will undergo appropriate physiotherapy. #Mets

— New York Mets (@Mets) June 3, 2016

ESPN’s Adam Rubin reported that Wright’s trip to the disabled list is due to a herniated disc in his neck and that he tried everything to avoid missing time, including injections and oral anti-inflammatories. Unfortunately, nothing helped, and he’s headed to the DL.

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In Rubin’s story, Mets manager Terry Collins had some personal and heartfelt comments about Wright and his persistent injuries.

“This guy has been a special player in baseball,” Collins said Tuesday, when the seriousness of the neck issue became apparent. “Certainly being the captain and the face of this organization, a manager’s worst nightmare is to see a star start to fade. I think David’s got a lot of baseball left in him because of the way he prepares and the way he gets himself ready. But it’s hard to watch what he’s going through … as good as he was. I’ll tell you: There’s a lot of guys in this room that would not do what he does every day just to get ready to go play a baseball game. He’s still special. He’s still a great player.”

Collins also mentioned that reliever Bobby Parnell had a similar neck problem, and returned after having surgery. Surgery is an option for Wright, but it’s not first on his list.

The Mets haven’t yet released an official statement confirming these reports, but they’re expected to today. While Wright is out, Rubin says the Mets will use Wilmer Flores at third base for the time being. But the injuries are piling up, and it could be a very busy trade deadline for the Mets.

This news is exceedingly unfortunate for 33-year-old Wright, the team captain who has been with the Mets for his entire 13-year career. In 2015 he missed several months with spinal stenosis, an injury that caused him significant pain and still continues to bother him.

Confirming reports Wright will miss “significant time,” Sources said Wright told them “there are days I don’t want to get out of bed.”

— Kristie Ackert (@Ackert_NYDN) June 3, 2016

Quotes like that make you wonder whether this could be the end of David Wright’s playing career, especially if he’s dealing with that much pain. Collins is right that watching a former star fade like this is so hard to do, especially one as bright and dedicated as David Wright. Wright isn’t one to give up; if spinal stenosis didn’t stop him, he’ll try everything to get back from this.

But if this the end, hopefully the last thing that people will remember won’t be that he hit .226 in his final (abbreviated) season. Hopefully they’ll remember that in his last three games, he hit a home run in each one of them.

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