Mets' David Wright to see back specialist

NEW YORK --Metsthird baseman David Wright will see a back specialist in California in an effort to gain clarity on the back issue that has kept him out of the lineup.

Mets GM Sandy Alderson said on Monday that Wright will meet with Dr. Robert Watkins and his staff of physical therapists in California to seek treatment for the back pain andspinal stenosis-- the narrowing of the spinal column -- that has plagued the seven-timeAll Star in recent weeks.

Alderson said Wright will spend a week with the specialist and his staff and that the Mets hope to get further clarity on Wright's status in the next two or three days.

"We hope that with this week of rest that he will be able to resume his progression," Alderson said. "This has been a stop-start proposition for us from the beginning."

Wright hasn't played since pulling his right hamstring against Philadelphia on April 14. His rehabilitation was put on hold May 6 when back pain developed. He resumed baseball activities on May 18, but the Mets said Saturday the 32-year-old felt lingering back pain.

Alderson said that none of the doctors the team has consulted have mentioned surgery as an option for Wright. The doctors believe that Wright's back ailments will heal in the short-term.

"We just need to wait and see over the next couple of days once we get an additional opinion," the GM said.

Wright is no stranger to back issues. He missed two months in 2011 with a stress fracture in his lower back. However, Wright was examined by team doctors on May 7 in New York, and the medical team determined that Wright had not suffered a repeat of that injury.

The injury is a concern for the Mets, who have a significant financial commitment to Wright, who is signed through 2020. He will earn $20 million a season through 2018, then receive $15 million in 2019 and $12 million in 2020.

Wright's ability to stay in the lineup has diminished in recent years. Once an iron man -- averaging 159 games a season from 2005 through 2008 -- he has averaged only 126 games per season from 2011 through 2014.

Alderson said that the team will weigh its options regarding a potential replacement for Wright while he deals with the back ailment.

"We continue to look inside the organization for someone who can give us a lift," Alderson said. "We will and have been looking outside the organization as well. Realistically, we have to get the job done with what we have at least in the near-term."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.