New York Mets: David Wright to begin rehab assignment tonight

David Wright alert: The New York Mets captain will start a rehab assignment tonight with High-A St. Lucie. He’s played 75 games since the start of 2015.

David Wright‘s future in baseball is truly one of the great mysteries of our time. The New York Mets third baseman will attempt to take a step forward tonight when he begins a rehab assignment for the High-A St. Lucie Mets, according to an announcement from the team.

Wright’s injury woes are common knowledge to baseball fans at this point. The seven-time All-Star has yet to appear in 2017, and he played a total of just 75 games over the previous two seasons (along with 14 postseason contests in 2015).

The health problems affecting the Mets captain have run the gamut from spinal stenosis to a herniated disc in his neck. This spring Wright received another setback when he was diagnosed with a right shoulder impingement which impaired his ability to throw. He hoped to return to the field this season but had shown little progress in that area until now.

Before being ravaged by injuries, Wright was arguably on a Hall of Fame trajectory in his career. From his 2004 debut through 2014, he slashed .298/.377/.494 with 230 home runs, 939 RBI and 191 stolen bases. Wright was also worth 49.6 bWAR over that span. At the end of the 2014 campaign, the last in which he played at least 100 games, he was 31 years old, meaning he still had plenty of great baseball ahead of him if he managed to stay healthy.

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For Mets fans, there will likely always be a degree of “what if?” where Wright is involved. Seven All-Star Games. Two Gold Gloves. Two Silver Sluggers. Four top-10 finishes in the MVP voting. Not to mention a pair of World Series appearances. Even if Wright can return to the field in the near future and stay there for the most part, it’s unlikely he’ll ever achieve what he otherwise would have in the latter stage of his career.

Back in March, Mets general manager Sandy Alderson addressed concerns that Wright might not be able to make it back at all. He said, per the New York Daily News:

"“I don’t think we’re at that point, the point where that concern is at a more heightened level. This is all part of the process of rehabilitating from the neck surgery. It’s taking longer than, I’m sure, David would have hoped and we would have hoped. It’s part of the process.”"

That process has taken another five months and counting, but tonight has the chance to be a turning point in Wright’s quest to resume his career. At 34 years old, the odds seem stacked against him, particularly in light of the relentless and often enigmatic nature of his series of health issues. But if he can play tonight and feel good physically, the Mets can’t take that as anything but an encouraging development.

(He’ll also be in the same lineup as Tim Tebow, so there’s that.)

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The Mets have no realistic shot at a playoff spot, so it doesn’t make much sense to push Wright too hard. However, there’s no denying the morale boost he’d provide to a fanbase that could certainly use a lift.