(
)
It’s just another instance of the Mets getting The Finger.
David Wright could be headed to the disabled list after X-rays last night revealed the Mets third baseman has a small fracture at the middle joint of his right pinky. Wright sustained the injury diving back into first base on a pickoff attempt Monday night.
The Mets are saying Wright won’t need surgery, but the finger will be splinted, and he “can return to baseball activity when as tolerated.” Wright is scheduled to see a hand specialist today, at which time the Mets may receive more clarity on his status.
If Wright needs a DL stint, the Mets could explore several options at third base, including Daniel Murphy. But it’s more likely the team would first look toward Ronny Cedeno or Justin Turner. The Mets already are without starting center fielder Andres Torres, who was placed on the DL last week with a sprained left calf.
Wright was sidelined three weeks in spring training with a strained ribcage muscle after missing two months last season with a stress fracture in his back — an injury he initially attempted to play through. Now he faces a different physical challenge.
“I learned from last year and this spring that you can’t put a timetable [on it],” Wright said after the Mets’ 6-2 loss to the Nationals. “I’m going to wake up [today] and hopefully the swelling goes down and we can start getting it better. For right now it’s swollen and we’re just trying to ice it and stabilize it and see how it feels [today].”
Wright played through the pain Monday night, but after he took swings in the batting cage yesterday, manager Terry Collins determined it was best to start Cedeno at third base, as Wright was in obvious pain.
“When I gripped the bat I knew it was going to be difficult,” Wright said. “We tried so many different things, from taping [the finger] to putting pads on it to trying to rig the bat where there was some extra padding where the hand would be, and it wasn’t cooperating. It’s a mutual decision where of course I wanted to go, but Terry put a quick stop to it.”
Collins said it’s likely the Mets won’t make a decision on Wright until Friday, when the team opens a three-game series in Philadelphia. The Mets have tomorrow off.
“If it’s not something they have to set, you go play,” Collins said. “You deal with the pain and you can play through it. We’ll know more [today]. The worst-case right now is that he’s going to miss a little bit of time, but the best-case scenario is that he takes [today] and he’s ready to go on Friday once they get the swelling down.”
Wright said the finger began swelling up Monday night and he subsequently received treatment on it. He says he removed bandages yesterday, and the swelling returned.
“[Monday] after I did it, hitting really hurt and throwing wasn’t nearly as bad as gripping the bat,” Wright said.
Over the first four games, Wright was 7-for-12 (.583) with a homer and four RBIs.
“I’m more concerned with I feel it breaks up the momentum that we had [as a team],” Wright said. “But there is nothing you can do about it. I never would have thought I could manage to fracture a finger trying to dive back into first, not getting picked off.”
mpuma@nypost.com