DENVER -- New York Mets manager Terry Collins acknowledged he may need to consider dropping David Wright from the No. 2 slot in the batting order if the captain's strikeout totals continue at this level. Still, Collins is not ready to consider such a move now.
Wright enters Saturday's game against the Colorado Rockies hitting .095 (2-for-21) with one homer on the team's three-city road trip. That has dropped Wright's season average to .223 -- his lowest average on May 14 as a professional, including his minor league seasons. Wright's 47.5 percent hard-hit rate among balls put in play leads major league qualifiers, but he is not putting the ball in play enough.
Wright glaringly has 42 strikeouts in 103 at-bats this season. His one strikeout every 2.5 at-bats is by far the poorest rate of his career. His average over 13 major league seasons is one strikeout every 4.7 at-bats.
It's the strikeout totals that prompted Wright to be the lone position player to take early batting practice at Coors Field early Saturday afternoon, when the captain received one-on-one attention for 20 minutes from hitting coach Kevin Long. Wright said Long requested that they have the outdoor session after they watched video together following Friday's loss. They worked on adjustments that ideally will get Wright's hands in the right spot when the ball arrives to make contact.
"We work constantly, but he wanted to bring it outside today," Wright said. "It's nice to get outside -- see the ball flight, instead of just being in a cage where you're cooped up and can't really see the trajectory or see where the ball goes."
The solace for the Mets is that Wright has produced a team-best .375 on-base percentage, thanks to 25 walks in 129 plate appearances.
"I'd like to, obviously, cut down on the strikeouts," Wright said. "I'd like to consistently have better at-bats. But the fact that when I am struggling I'm still trying to find a way to get on base, I can look at that as a positive. I'd rather hit my way on base than walk. But if the walks are there I've got to take them."
Overall, the Mets' .381 on-base percentage from their No. 2 hitters ranks second in the majors. Only the Baltimore Orioles, primarily thanks to Manny Machado, fare better at .416. Saturday will mark Wright's 24th start as the No. 2 hitter, with Asdrubal Cabrera (11 times) and Juan Lagares (once) getting the other starts in that slot this season.
"At some point, if he continues to struggle, we'll address that," Collins said about Wright batting second. "He leads the team in on-base [percentage]. When you're talking about the two-hole, you're talking about guys getting on base. The issue is the strikeouts more than anything. This guy is not that kind of guy. He doesn't usually strike out. That's why they're out there today trying to make a couple of adjustments, to certainly try to fix it."
Wright will be afforded more rope than the average player because, well, he's David Wright.
"And it's May," Collins added.
Certainly, being 33 years old and playing through spinal stenosis in his lower back has impacted Wright. Collins plans to rest Wright on Sunday.
"We talked today, and I asked him about his back," Collins said. "We got into a discussion about how he's feeling. The other night in San Diego, the third game in a row, he tore it up. So, it's not how many he plays in a row, it's just certain days he feels better than others. Today he said he felt fine and wanted to play, and he wanted to hit early. And I said, 'Don't overdo it. You're out here at 4 o'clock or 3 o'clock and it's 55 degrees out. We don't need you to tighten up before the game starts.'
"This guy is a pro, and he's not happy with the way things are going. He and Kevin looked at some tape yesterday. And today they're trying to see if they can get him to do a couple of different things at home plate."
Said Wright: "There's just some things for me that feel out of whack. Kevin has been looking at some film and had some suggestions for me. I don't think it's anything crazy major. It's just something he saw where he felt maybe some extra work would do me some good."
Asked if limiting his physical activity outside of games because of his back has hampered his ability to remedy things with his swing, Wright candidly said: "I'd like to think I do everything I can to keep myself in the best possible position to go out there and succeed. I think, physically, it's been a challenge. On top of that, it's not being able to put in a lot of the work that I think I used to be able to put in. You get in a little funk, you just hit your way out of it. I'm not really able to do that anymore. Today was one of the few [times] where I can go out there and get a little bit of extra work, and we'll see how I feel tomorrow with taking the extra swings. I hope there's no problem there.
"When you're a little kid, you get in a little slump and you just hit your way out of it. That's something that's been an adjustment for me -- having to rely more on film, or more on just mentally trying to figure out what's wrong with my swing rather than just going out there and hitting until it feels right."
