David Wright, Mets Make Contract Official
It’s official — David Wright will be a Met for the rest of his life. Wright was down in Nashville Wednesday to attend a news conference formally announcing his contract extension.
“I’m humbled, privileged, emotional,” Wright said. “It was very important to me from Day 1 that I finish what I started. Things haven’t gone the way we would’ve liked them to the last couple years, but that’s going to change.”
Wright said it’s always been his dream to play his entire career with the Mets.
“I think there’s something to be said for that. And I’m very proud of that — to be able to be drafted at 18 by this organization, groomed, developed, make your big league debut with your favorite team growing up, having the opportunity for my friends and family to almost start bleeding blue and orange. It was a no-brainer for me.”
The deal is for seven more years on top of his 2013 option for $122 million. To show how committed Wright is, The Wall Street Journal reports that Wright will only take $8 million of the $16 million he is owed for next season to give the Mets some payroll flexibility. A total of $15 million will be deferred until after 2020.
The contract also reportedly includes a full no-trade clause, which is kind of unnecessary because Wright will become a 10-and-five guy in the middle of the 2014 season, so he couldn’t be traded without his consent anyway.
There has been much speculation that David Wright would be named team captain when he signed a new deal. Mets Blog reports that Jeff Wilpon said Wright would only be named captain if his teammates ask for it during Spring Training
“I think David already is the captain,” Wilpon said. “What David has shown is leadership without having to have a ‘C’ on his chest, or somebody having to name him captain. I think what Terry and Sandy and I have talked about is if the players come in spring and say, ‘Hey, listen, we really want David to be the captain, and be named the captain.’ Then I’m sure Terry will bring that back and we’ll do something like that.”
So now David Wright is locked up — the first step towards building a champion in Flushing.