The team\u2019s captain and longest-tenured player has been hobbled by injuries for more than two years and will plan to play a last game at home on Sept. 29.<\/b>
\nAfter more than two years of injuries, three surgeries and a prolonged rehabilitation, David Wright, the Mets\u2019 captain and longest-tenured player, plans to retire after one last game on Sept. 29.
Fighting back tears during a news conference Thursday, Wright said that psychologically he is ready to play but his body is not.
\u201cPhysically, the way I feel right now and everything the doctors have told me, there\u2019s not going to be any improvement,\u201d he said, adding that he could not envision playing full-time again.
Wright will come off the disabled list and start at third base against the Miami Marlins on Sept. 29, the penultimate game of the season, said Jeff Wilpon, a member of the family that owns the team and its chief operating officer.
Wright has not played in a major league game since May 27,2016. In the more than two years since he was sidelined, he has had surgeries on his shoulder, neck and back, in addition to dealing with an existing chronic back condition called spinal stenosis.
\u201cThose three combined, it\u2019s debilitating to play baseball,\u201d he said.
His return to the field no doubt will be a rousing and poignant moment in a lost season for the Mets (66-78). Wright was drafted by the Mets in 2001, played in 13 major league seasons for them, signed two contract extensions to stay, made seven All-Star games and sits atop many franchise leader boards.
When Wright suffered a setback with his shoulder in spring training, many \u2014 including Wright himself \u2014 wondered if he could ever make it back.
Insurance payments added a complicating dynamic to Wright\u2019s return; if he was activated, the Mets stood to pay out millions to Wright that insurance was covering while he was on the disabled list. As Wright neared a return, Mets officials, despite a reputation for belt-tightening, insisted they were only worried about his health.
On Thursday, Wilpon said the insurance money was not a factor in the decision to activate him.
As Wright improved and progressed in his rehabilitation this summer, he grew more confident that he would be able to play this season. He began a minor league rehabilitation assignment in mid-August.
Wright ran out of time (his 20-day assignment ended just before the minor league season ended) and he did not play well enough, in terms of quantity and quality, in the Mets\u2019 eyes.
But he took part in two simulated games, essentially practice against his own teammates, over the past week \u2014 the hurdles the Mets requested Wright clear before figuring out his return. Wright\u2019s timing at the plate still looked rusty, perhaps a combination of physical deterioration, age and so much time away, but he will get at least one more chance to test it against major-league pitching.<\/p>\n

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