NEW YORK -- David Wright insisted he does not deserve to represent the Mets at Tuesday's All-Star Game. More candidly, the captain confessed Sunday morning, even if the National League needed a late replacement, he would be unable to perform.
Dogged by a bruised left rotator cuff and inflammation that recently sidelined him for a week, Wright told ESPNNewYork.com he will receive a cortisone injection in the shoulder after Sunday's first-half finale. He then will spend the All-Star break "out west," allowing the shot to take effect.
"So physically I'd be unable to go," Wright said. "It's not something where they've said, hey, it's going to be a week and it goes away. It's something that hopefully continues to get better, and it has. That's why hopefully these four days will do me some good as far as getting back to somewhat full strength."
As for the timing of the shot, he added: "This is a last resort. I'm glad they just don't hand these things out. You want to try to naturally get better. And when it doesn't, then the plan was to get it after the game today, before the All-Star break, where I get four days of rest."
Wright entered the first-half finale hitting .345 with two homers and five RBIs in eight starts since returning July 5, so the shoulder issue does not currently prevent him from functioning at a high level. Still, it lingers. Wright grimaced in discomfort last Sunday at Citi Field after unsuccessfully diving to his left for a single by Texas Rangers pitcher Nick Tepesch.
The lone other instance in the past nine seasons in which Wright has not been selected for the All-Star Game came in 2011. That year, he unwittingly played through a stress fracture in his lower back until finally getting a proper diagnosis and landing on the disabled list for two months.
"The disappointing part isn't not going to the All-Star Game. The disappointing part is feeling like I didn't meet the standards that I set for myself in my first 10 years, or whatever it's been," Wright said. "With that being said, I'm looking forward to getting healthy -- or getting more healthy -- and resting and then hopefully getting off to a good start in the second half and finishing strong. I don't deserve to go, so I don't want to go for the sake of going. I want to go when I deserve to go."