Ron Darling On WFAN: Mets Should 'Assume That You Get Nothing From Wright'
NEW YORK (WFAN) -- Ron Darling believes the Mets should have extremely low expectations for David Wright in 2017.
"This sounds awful -- I would assume that you get nothing from Wright," Darling told WFAN's Mike Francesa on Wednesday. "That's what I would assume going into the season. If you get something, then hooray, you feel unbelievable. But I'm assuming that you get nothing from David, only because the mercurial nature of having that kind of back injury."
Back and neck issues limited Wright to just 75 games over the past two seasons. His spinal stenosis -- a narrowing of the open spaces in the spine, which puts pressure on the spinal cord and nerves affecting the arms and legs -- is a constant concern.
The Mets are well prepared if Wright is unable to play many games. They picked up the option on Jose Reyes' contract, and Wilmer Flores and T.J. Rivera will also be back in 2017.
Darling, the former Mets pitcher and MLB Network analyst, said he believes the Mets will give Wright every opportunity to return to the field.
"I hope, just as a human being, that he's able to come back and play the sport he loves, but it's very difficult," Darling said. "Even to get on the field, it takes him a couple of hours to do that. And to ask him to do that a whole season, I think is a lot."
To listen to the full interview, in which Darling also discusses the World Series, the Yoenis Cespedes signing, the Mets' pitching staff and more, click on the audio player above.
