New York Mets and USA Baseball third baseman David Wright missed time in the World Baseball Classic due to sore ribs, but the hope is that he will be in the starting lineup for his MLB team as Opening Day approaches.

UPDATE: Friday, March 29, at 9:30 a.m ET by Michael Cahill

According to Adam Rubin of ESPN New York, the Mets star third baseman will be ready for opening day on Monday. 

Rubin provides further details: 

The Mets signaled as much Friday when they decided to place Wright in their Grapefruit League lineup, eliminating the potential to backdate any DL stint. 

--End of Update--

UPDATE: Tuesday, Mar. 26, at 2:18 p.m. ET by Brandon Galvin

Great news for Mets fans as David Wright (ribs) says he feels fine following his first game back to action, according to New York Newsday's Marc Carig.

ESPN's Adam Rubin has more from Wright:

'It felt OK,' Wright said. 'I haven’t played since a couple of weeks ago. I felt like the timing was OK, better towards the fifth at-bat. But it was good to get that number of ABs that quickly. It felt as comfortable as, I guess, I could taking the two weeks off. … I finally got on base the fifth at-bat, so I was able to stretch the legs out a little bit. So it felt good.' 

---End of update---

 

UPDATE: Tuesday, Mar. 26, at 12:04 p.m. ET by Brandon Galvin

Exciting news for Mets fans as David Wright (ribs) will participate in the team's minor league game today, according to ESPN's Adam Rubin.

 

---End of update---

 

UPDATE: Thursday, March 21 at 9:50 a.m. ET by Donald Wood

Despite the concerns that New York Mets star David Wright would miss the start of the season, manager Terry Collins told Mike Puma of the New York Post that he is confident the team’s best offensive weapon will be the starting third baseman on Opening Day.

---End of update---

 

UPDATE: Friday, March 15 at 3:55 p.m. ET by Tyler Conway

More details continue to emerge about Wright's injury, and early indications are not promising. According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets third baseman has suffered a "moderate" intercostal strain, which can be caused by a rapid twisting of the torso (e.g. swinging a baseball bat):

Per Adam Rubin of ESPN, Wright will miss the remainder of the World Baseball Classic, and New York manager Terry Collins said Wright may open the MLB season on the disabled list:

Collins also noted that the team will be looking for a replacement in the interim while Wright is down, per the Mets' official Twitter feed:

Here is the Mets manager expanding even further on Wright's prognosis, according to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News:

While official word has not come down yet, it's beginning to look more and more like the Mets will have a new Opening Day third baseman in 2013. 

---End of update---


UPDATE: Friday, March 15 at 10:30 a.m. ET by Michael Cahill

According to Jorge Castillo of NJ.com, the Mets star will be headed back to NYC this weekend to have doctors look at his ribs. 

Sandy Alderson, as reported by Castillo, is anxious to get the star home and have him looked at. 

In terms of the injury and the severity, we just don’t know anymore than David has relayed already publicly so until he’s actually examined we won’t know the exact nature of the injury,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said this morning. “We won’t know the extent of the injury and we won’t have any sort of timetable for his return.”

Newsday’s David Lennon reported that Wright was able to start pregame activities, but was ultimately pulled out of the United States’ Thursday showdown with the Dominican Republic: 

Yahoo! Sports’ Tim Brown added more details on the pain in Wright’s ribs, noting that it was a last-minute decision to keep him out of the contest: 

The United States will certainly miss Wright against a loaded Dominican Republic team that includes MLB stars Robinson Cano, Miguel Tejada and Hanley Ramirez, among others.  

Wright has been the Americans’ best hitter up until this point in the competition after getting on base in seven of his 16 at-bats. He has already delivered 10 RBI. 

The 30-year-old is a career .301 hitter and has been named an MLB All-Star six times.

This year's USA squad has been constructed differently than previous World Baseball Classics. Instead of loading the roster with Major League Baseball’s top talents, Joe Torre tried to balance his team with stars and role players.

While this may help improve chemistry, it also increases the impact of an injury to one of the team’s best players, as no comparable talent is able to step in.

The United States will be hoping that Wright, who is incredibly important to the team, will not be on the bench for long, while the Mets are praying that nothing serious is wrong with the player they signed to an eight-year, $138 million deal.