The New York Mets ended third baseman David Wright’s season on Sept. 8. At that time, Wright said he was relieved to find out he didn’t need surgery and that he hoped to be 100 percent by the time the Mets report to spring training in February.
Wright found out this week he has ligament damage in his shoulder and is now hoping to avoid surgery. He told the New York Daily News that he had an “instability” in his nonthrowing shoulder and has started a six-week rehab program at his offseason home.
When he finishes the program, Wright will return to New York to be examined by team doctors. If his shoulder has gained enough strength, he might be able to avoid surgery.
“I hope to be cleared to be able to do baseball activity and swing a bat then; just to make sure that everything feels OK,” Wright said Wednesday night. “I don’t want to go into the offseason not knowing how it will feel to swing a bat. I would normally start hitting in January, but I want to just have that peace of mind and not wait.”
Wright missed seven games from June 27 through July 4 with a strained left rotator cuff, though he played through pain for several weeks prior to the diagnosis.
Wright ended the first half with a flourish (.364 with two homers, six extra-base hits and seven RBIs in his final nine games) but hit just .238 with no homers, seven extra-base hits and 15 RBIs in 181 at-bats following the All-Star Break.
Wright finished the season with .269 average, the second-lowest average of his career. He set career lows with eight homers, a .324 on-base percentage and a .374 slugging percentage. He had 63 RBIs, his fourth-lowest total behind only his rookie season in 2004 (when he played just 69 games) and his injury-shortened 2011 and 2013 seasons.