Mets not ruling out 2017 return for rehabbing Wright

Though beleaguered New York Mets star David Wright hasn't played an inning in 2017 due to a shoulder impingement, the 34-year-old third baseman resumed baseball activity Tuesday, giving assistant general manager John Ricco a modicum of hope he can return this season.

"It's a good sign and we'll see how his body responds as he starts to build up," Ricco told Mike Puma of the New York Post on Wednesday.

Wright, who was limited to just 75 games over the previous two seasons due to spinal stenosis, has started fielding ground balls and hitting off a tee from his club's spring complex in Port St. Lucie, where he's also been playing catch for the first time since a fruitless attempt to complete a throwing program in May.

Given the considerable layoff, the club will be patient with Wright, who goes through roughly two hours of stretching before he can take the field.

"It's been a while," Ricco said. "He's been out in California for quite some time and is just getting himself back into shape. He just got to Florida (on Tuesday) and we'll see how it goes. I don't think we're looking too far ahead, just see how it goes over these next few days and weeks."

Albeit in limited action, Wright was productive over the last two seasons, managing an .801 OPS with 12 homers, 15 doubles, and five stolen bases in 75 games from 2015 through 2016. Over parts of 13 seasons in the majors, the seven-time All-Star has hit .296/.379/.434 (133 OPS+) in 1,583 contests, all of them coming in a Mets uniform.