PORT ST. LUCIE — David Wright’s buildup to playing third base in an exhibition game could take about three weeks.
The Mets captain played catch for the second time this spring Tuesday and is expected to see action at DH over the weekend in the Grapefruit League. But manager Terry Collins pinpointed mid-March as the most likely timetable for Wright playing the field.
“He is making strides,” Collins said. “You are looking at, three weeks from today we will have a real good idea where he is at. That gives him a lot of time to lengthen himself out.
“He’s not going to play a lot of third base, he is going to get a ton of ground balls, as much as we can get him, but he probably won’t play a lot until we make sure his arm is right, so he is going to DH and go to the minor leagues and get at-bats, and he wants it.”
Wright, who is battling spinal stenosis in his back — he also underwent surgery in June for a herniated disk in his neck — has conducted his throwing sessions privately, away from fans and media at the team’s spring training complex.
“We just don’t want him overexposed where if he makes a bad throw all of a sudden it’s a big story,” Collins said.
Collins stood in center field during live batting practice to watch the movement on Jeurys Familia’s pitches. The righty looked sharp, according to Collins, and will begin building his workload to prepare for the World Baseball Classic. Familia will pitch for the Dominican Republic.
“He’s going to leave in 10 days, and he’s got to certainly get it going a little bit,” Collins said. “We’ve got to get him out there a little more so he feels comfortable when he goes to the WBC, but this guy is such a hard worker.
“The ideal thing is to have players who don’t need managers or coaches. They get themselves ready, they don’t have to be told what to do and how to go about it. They make your job easier because you know they are going to do it. To get ready they do it on their own.”
With rain in Thursday’s forecast, Collins has decided against the idea of holding an intrasquad scrimmage on the eve of the Mets’ first Grapefruit League game. The Mets may hold a longer workout on Wednesday because of the following day’s weather forecast.