The New York Mets are still in first place in the NL East division, but they've lost seven of their last 10 games and various injuries are beginning to catch up to them. One of those hurt players is third baseman David Wright, who has been out for nearly three weeks now.
It's not alarming that Wright has yet to come off the disabled list as he recovers from his hamstring strain. General manager Sandy Alderson previously noted it could be three weeks before Wright returns to the Mets' lineup, but the GM's latest comments create a cause for further concern.
"It's just hard to say," Alderson told Zach Braziller of the New York Post when asked about Wright's return. "He could be a week away, could be 10 days away. Until he gets into a game situation and feels confident with the leg, we're not going to know."
Alderson noted Wright is at the team's minor-league complex on Port St. Lucie, Fla., as he continues to rehab the injury, but he's still not 100 percent healthy since landing on the DL back in mid-April. Wright was eligible to return to action last Thursday, but Alderson told reporters that day the third baseman was still at least a week away from being activated. After all, Wright only began engaging in more thorough baseball activities last Monday.
However, at this point in his rehab, which is just about at the three-week mark, Wright has yet to run at full speed and the timetable for his return to MLB action remains unclear. It appears as if he'll likely be back with the team at some point in the middle of next week rather than this weekend, which was initially expected the last time Alderson spoke to reporters.
New York has shaken up their infield during Wright's absence and called up second baseman prospect Dilson Herrera. That move shifted Daniel Murphy over to third base after Eric Campbell compiled a slash line of .204/.328/.327 in 15 starts filling in for Wright. Herrera is viewed as the second baseman of the future, so if he performs well as the team waits for Wright to return then they could look to trade Daniel Murphy, which was rumored recently.
At this point, the Mets are just hoping Wright returns as quickly as possible because the club's offense ranks 27th in runs scored (15) and 29th in batting average (.211) over the past week.
