David Wright understands why Mets couldn't wait on him any longer
David Wright
PORT ST. LUCIE â It sounds as if  David Wright  finally has come to the realization â and to grips with â the likelihood that the end is near.
 Wright  spoke for the first time this spring at Mets camp on Saturday  and while  he  admirably refuses to give up on  his  multi-year quest to make it back to the field following multiple surgeries  the hobbled captain fully understands why the organization signed Todd Frazier as a more permanent replacement at third base this offseason.
 He  also understands why the Mets simply and clearly could not wait for  him  any longer.
âIâm going to give it my best shot  certainly. I probably have a lot of the same questions that youâre asking me  and a lot of people are asking of me. Because I just donât know â  Wright  said when asked in the home dugout at First Data Field how realistic  he  believes a return this season would be for  him . âItâs certainly been an uphill climb for me  so I guess to honestly answer your question  I donât know. Iâm not sure what the expectation is.
 Wright âs body has gone through more pain and trouble in the past few seasons than any pro athlete should have to endure  from the spinal stenosis that first was diagnosed in 2015 to the neck  back and shoulder surgeries the seven-time All-Star third baseman has undergone over the past two lost years of  his  career.
âCertainly  (itâs been) very frustrating â  the 35-year-old Wright  said. âWhen youâre used to doing something your entire life  and itâs kind of taken away from you  itâs definitely frustrating.
 David Wright  discusses the frustrations surrounding trying to get healthy. (Howard Simmons/New York Daily News)
For practically 15 years now   Wright  has been one of the most amicable and productive players ever produced by the Mets organization  and as such  I remain firmly in the camp that the decision to call it a career is  his  and  his  alone.
True to form   Wright  walked into Mickey Callawayâs office earlier in the week to ask what the new managerâs leadership expectations were of  him  while still rehabbing. âI would think everyone in baseball is rooting for  David Wright  to come back " Callaway said.
If not  the Mets recouped 75 percent of  Wright âs $20 million salary last season  and will do so on the remaining three years and $47 million owed  him  should  he  never resume a career that once seemed to be on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
âIâve had a hard time with it certainly  but I guess you do what you can do and do everything in your power â  Wright  said. âThe biggest thing is I donât want to say when itâs all said and done I wish I would have done this or I wish I would have done that.
To that end   Wright  still has not even resumed running or any baseball activity. So even while saying  he  hopes to âbegin to try to ramp it up a little bit moreâ in the coming weeks  any immediate return appears out of the question anyway.
Which is why the Mets were fully justified in signing Frazier to a two-year deal to man third base for the next seasons after a couple of years of keeping the light on for  him  by mostly patch-working the position together.
âJeff (Wilpon) called me the night that it came out  which I very much appreciated  and he said he wanted to give me a heads up that  âhey  this is going to happenâ and that certainly meant a lot to me â  Wright  said. âThe way I look at is that weâre certainly  in my opinion  a very good team without me and my mindset is that weâll be a better team with both of us out there.
Another typically diplomatic response  to be sure  but itâs impossible for  even Wright  to ignore that the Frazier signing finally represents some concession by the Mets that he can no longer be counted on to come back successfully.
PORT ST. LUCIE â It sounds as if   [TGT] finally has come to the realization â and to grips with â the likelihood that the end is near.
  [TGT] spoke for the first time this spring at Mets camp on Saturday  and while   [TGT]   admirably refuses to give up on   [TGT]   multi-year quest to make it back to the field following multiple surgeries  the hobbled captain fully understands why the organization signed Todd Frazier as a more permanent replacement at third base this offseason.
  [TGT]   also understands why the Mets simply and clearly could not wait for   [TGT]   any longer.
âIâm going to give it my best shot  certainly. I probably have a lot of the same questions that youâre asking me  and a lot of people are asking of  [TGT] . Because I just donât know â   [TGT] said when asked in the home dugout at First Data Field how realistic   [TGT]   believes a return this season would be for   [TGT]  . âItâs certainly been an uphill climb for me  so I guess to honestly answer your question  I donât know. Iâm not sure what the expectation is.
  [TGT]  âs body has gone through more pain and trouble in the past few seasons than any pro athlete should have to endure  from the spinal stenosis that first was diagnosed in 2015 to the neck  back and shoulder surgeries the seven-time All-Star third baseman has undergone over the past two lost years of   [TGT]   career.
âCertainly  (itâs been) very frustrating â   [TGT] said. âWhen youâre used to doing something your entire life  and itâs kind of taken away from you  itâs definitely frustrating.
  [TGT]   discusses the frustrations surrounding trying to get healthy. (Howard Simmons/New York Daily News)
For practically 15 years now    [TGT] has been one of the most amicable and productive players ever produced by the Mets organization  and as such  I remain firmly in the camp that the decision to call it a career is   [TGT]   and   [TGT]   alone.
True to form    [TGT] walked into Mickey Callawayâs office earlier in the week to ask what the new managerâs leadership expectations were of   [TGT]   while still rehabbing. âI would think everyone in baseball is rooting for   [TGT]   to come back " Callaway said.
If not  the Mets recouped 75 percent of  Wright âs $20 million salary last season  and will do so on the remaining three years and $47 million owed  him  should  he  never resume a career that once seemed to be on a Hall of Fame trajectory.
âIâve had a hard time with it certainly  but I guess you do what you can do and do everything in your power â   [TGT] said. âThe biggest thing is I  [TGT]  want to say when itâs all said and done I wish I would have done this or I wish I would have done that.
To that end    [TGT] still has not even resumed running or any baseball activity. So even while saying   [TGT]   hopes to âbegin to try to ramp it up a little bit moreâ in the coming weeks  any immediate return appears out of the question anyway.
Which is why the Mets were fully justified in signing Frazier to a two-year deal to man third base for the next seasons after a couple of years of keeping the light on for  him  by mostly patch-working the position together.
âJeff (Wilpon) called me the night that it came out  which I very much appreciated  and he said he wanted to give me a heads up that  âhey  this is going to happenâ and that certainly meant a lot to me â   [TGT] said. âThe way I look at is that weâre certainly  in my opinion  a very good team without  [TGT]  and my mindset is that weâll be a better team with both of us out there.
Another typically diplomatic response  to be sure  but itâs impossible for   [TGT] .