Much to the dismay of Washington Nationals fans, the wait is over for all the anxious New York Mets fans.
David Wright will take the field on Monday night against the Philadelphia Phillies and see his first MLB action since he suffered an injury against the division rivals back on April 14. Here's the latest from Adam Rubin of ESPNNewYork.com:
"Mets manager Terry Collins confirmed Sunday that Wright will be activated from the disabled list and be placed in the starting lineup for the series opener against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.
"Wright, 32, originally landed on the disabled list a week into the season with a right hamstring strain, but a major lower-back issue sidelined him for the bulk of his four-plus-month absence."
The captain made his first rehab start on Aug. 10 with Class A Advanced St. Lucie as he eased back into full speed action after undergoing two months of physical therapy with Dr. Robert Watkins in Los Angeles. Wright had only begun conducting baseball activity in late July due to the severity of his spinal stenosis condition.
He'll join the Mets at an extremely crucial point in the season. New York (67-56) holds a five-game lead over the Washington Nationals in the NL East and the club will receive a major boost if Wright can get back on track quickly. He has played in only eight games this season and just 21 dating back to one year ago.
"The reports [on Wright] are great, but it's the Florida State League," Collins told Mike Puma of the New York Post. "That should answer it. He looks good, he's feeling good, he's swinging the bat good, but it's the Florida State League, so I'm not putting any expectations on it."
Rubin also noted Wright went 0-for-4 with an RBI in his final rehab game with St. Lucie on Saturday. Collins previously told reporters that the veteran would not be playing every day following his activation from the disabled list, which now makes general manager Sandy Alderson's acquisition of Juan Uribe even more important.
After struggling to score runs through the month of July, the revived Mets' offense (with the additions of Yoenis Cespedes, Michael Conforto, Kelly Johnson and Uribe) has scored 110 runs in the month of August, which ranks third in the MLB.
Wright's first test will come on Monday night against Philadelphia and he'll rejoin the Mets amidst their push for the postseason, where he and the team haven't been since 2006.
