The New York Mets will activate third baseman David Wright from the disabled list on Sept. 25, and he will start what he expects to be his final major league game on Sept. 29, he announced at a press conference on Thursday.

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“It’s truly been an honor to take the field with you and serve as your captain,” an emotional Wright said. “To the fans, words can’t address my gratitude.”

The Sept. 29 contest against the Miami Marlins is the Mets’ second-to-last game of the season. Sept. 25 marks the beginning of New York’s final homestand.

If the seven-time All-Star does retire at season’s end, he will leave $27 million on the table between the last two seasons of his eight-year, $138 million contract. However, both Wright and Mets chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon refrained from using the word “retirement” when discussing the end of his playing career Thursday.

--Oakland Athletics right-hander Trevor Cahill was sent home due to a back injury and has been scratched from his scheduled Saturday road start against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Cahill was diagnosed with a rhomboid muscle strain in his upper back, according to reports. He will undergo an MRI exam in Oakland. A’s manager Bob Melvin is hoping Cahill can pitch on the upcoming homestand, which begins Tuesday against the Los Angeles Angels.

Cahill, 30, is 6-3 with a 3.77 ERA in 19 starts but uncharacteristically issued six walks in two of his past three starts. He lasted just 3 1/3 innings in one of the outings and 2 2/3 in the other.

--Seattle Mariners ace left-hander James Paxton will miss his scheduled Friday start against the Los Angeles Angels due to what manager Scott Servais termed a “form of pneumonia.”

Paxton was feeling ill earlier in the week and didn’t travel with the team to Anaheim, Calif., after a Wednesday home loss to the San Diego Padres.

Servais told reporters that he is hopeful Paxton (11-6, 3.83 ERA in 26 starts) can return at some point on the 10-game road trip that begins Thursday night against the Angels. Servais also said right-hander Felix Hernandez (ankle) didn’t make the trip. Servais feels it is possible Hernandez will pitch again this season.

--Former left-handed pitcher Billy O’Dell, a two-time All-Star, died at age 85.

Clemson announced O’Dell’s death on Thursday, one day after his passing. He was a pitcher at the university before beginning his 13-year stint in the majors. No cause of death was announced.

O’Dell went 105-100 with a 3.29 ERA from 1954-67, missing the 1955 season because of military service. He went directly from Clemson to the majors with the Baltimore Orioles in 1954 and was an All-Star in 1958 and 1959. He also pitched for the San Francisco Giants, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates.

--Field Level Media