Mets' David Wright To See Specialist For Broken Finger; DL Possible
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) -- Talk about a bad break.
Before Tuesday night's loss against the Washington Nationals, Mets manager Terry Collins took David Wright out of the lineup after learning the third baseman had injured his right pinkie finger diving back to a base the previous night. Later Tuesday, the Mets said X-rays had shown a fracture.
The Mets are sending Wright for more tests before deciding on a course of action, possibly including whether he will go on the disabled list or not.
"No one ever really wants to go on the DL. Hopefully, that's not the case this time," Wright said.
Collins remembered how Wright suffered in silence last season before revealing back pain that turned out to be a stress fracture that sidelined him for two months.
"This one I'm going to take it out of his hands," said Collins.
Wright batted .226 last year before he went on the disabled list May 18 and sat out until July 22. He was scheduled to see a hand specialist on Wednesday and will be fitted for a custom splint. The fracture is too small to be surgically reduced.
"I couldn't grip a bat today - pretty easy decision today," Wright said. "It's always frustrating to miss time, kind of breaks up the momentum we had."
Wright has a homer and four walks in four games this season, as well as at least one hit in each game.
"It would be the worst thing that could happen right now. It's his top hand, bottom finger," Collins said. "He is swinging the bat so well. It wouldn't make any sense to make adjustments to his swing."
Collins moved second baseman Daniel Murphy to Wright's No. 3 spot in the order Tuesday, and had Ronny Cedeno at third base and batting second. The Mets lost 6-2, their first defeat this season after a 4-0 start.
"I learned from last year ... you can't put a timetable on it," said Wright. "Hopefully the swelling goes down and we can start getting it better."
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