New York Mets: Why David Wright Must Go

The New York Mets are on the verge of letting their best player, Jose Reyes, walk to another team.  With the club heading into a rebuilding process, is it that ridiculous to think they might also part ways with the last remaining face of their franchise, David Wright?  

It’s not as crazy as you might think.

Wright’s contract expires after the 2013 season.  If the Mets are not looking to re-sign him long-term, they should look to deal Wright this offseason, and at least get something back in return. 

Hopefully, they will not make the same mistake with Wright that they did with Reyes.  Everyone in their right mind knew that Reyes was likely to leave at the end of the season.

But instead of trying to get significant value back for the speedster, the Mets decided not to trade him, and in return, got nothing.

If the Mets put Wright on the market, there will be a handful of teams vying for the slugger’s services.  The Mets would likely be able to obtain a plethora of top prospects in return for the third baseman.

Not to mention, Wright has struggled to stay healthy in recent years, missing almost a month in 2009 and more than two months just this past season.  Even when Wright was healthy, he still produced career-low numbers in 2011, hitting just .254. 

Wright's numbers seem to be declining a little bit.  The slugger has not been able to hit 30-plus home runs in a season since 2008, and he has watched his strikeout total increase with each year.

The organization, as well as Mets fans, have tried to make Wright out to be something he is not.

While he is still among the best third basemen in baseball, I do not believe Wright can be a consistent franchise player.  He will not do the things for his team that guys like Albert Pujols, Ryan Braun, Adrian Gonzalez, and even Reyes would.

For a team that is currently in a little bit of a financial crisis, putting all their eggs in David Wright’s basket does not seem like a good idea.

The Mets have already parted ways with some other big names such as Carlos Beltran and Francisco Rodriguez. 

Now with Reyes as good as gone, the Mets are in the process of rebuilding.  They have had three consecutive losing seasons, indicating that they are in need of a big change. 

The Mets are planning to be in position to contend for a division title in the 2012 season.  Instead, they should think long-term.

While Wright is now the only attraction the Mets have left, they still have to plan for the future and do what is best for the team—even if that means trading away their only remaining star.