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New York Mets third baseman David Wright has been on the DL since April 15 after suffering a hamstring injury. Wright is also dealing with back stiffness that has prohibited his return.

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Alderson Speaks on Wright's Potential Return

Monday, June 15

"What I try to is look at the next benchmarks," Mets general manager Sandy Alderson explained while discussing when Wright could return, per Mike Vorkunov of NJ.com, who continued:

What are the benchmarks? One of them is, say, the first of July. We're in the middle of June right now. Another benchmark might be the first of July. Might be the All-Star break. The trade deadline is July 31. The month of August. So there are these benchmarks. Realistically I'm looking at probably the All-Star break as a realistic possibility.

On June 2, Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reported that Wright believes he's too young to have surgery on his back, leaving him to take things on a week-by-week basis at this time with an unclear timetable for return.

However, Wright did state that he plans on coming back this season, "There's never been a question in my mind that not only am I going to come back, but I'm going to sooner rather than later. We're not just talking about playing baseball. We're talking about walking and standing and being pain-free."

On May 23, Rubin reported that Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said the injury was being called lower-back tightness, though the initial diagnosis was stenosis, the narrowing of the spinal canal in the lower back.

The Mets placed Wright on the 15-day DL on April 15 "with a mild strain of the right hamstring." The team issued a full statement on Wright's status, per Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal:

Wright, 32, suffered the injury while stealing second base in the bottom of the eighth inning. He was replaced by Anthony Recker, who was left stranded in scoring position when Travis d'Arnaud struck out to end the frame.

Injury issues have become an increasingly frustrating occurrence for Wright, who has missed 144 games over the last four seasons. He missed the final 18 games of 2014 due to a shoulder injury that lingered for almost the entire campaign.

Supposedly back at full strength, Wright was flashing signs of his old self prior to the hamstring injury, batting .333/.371/.424 with one home run and four RBI through eight games.

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