David Wright needs surgery and the Mets make a puzzling Matt Harvey decision

The New York Mets released their latest medical updates Monday. In a year in which they’ll be lucky to win 70 games, these injury briefings have become the defining moments. The takeaway this time? It continues to be both a sad and head-scratching season in Queens.

• The Mets announced that David Wright, who hasn’t played at all this season and has only played 75 games since 2015, needs rotator cuff surgery after he’d complained of right shoulder pain while playing in minor-league rehab games. For Wright, 34, the journey back from injury has been excruciatingly long.

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• While the latest on Wright will make Mets fans sad, this next update might infuriate them: Mets manager Terry Collins said Monday that once-ace Matt Harvey will be back on the mound Wednesday on short rest. Harvey returned from injury Saturday to make his first start since June and got lit up by the Houston Astros, pitching just two innings and allowing seven runs on eight hits.

Harvey had been on the disabled list with a stress injury in his shoulder, which came after he needed season-ending surgery to repair thoracic outlet syndrome in 2016. He needed Tommy Johny surgery in 2013, which he returned from successfully in 2015.

Sending Harvey back out to pitch on short rest just seems like an odd plan, considering his medical history and the overall state of the Mets disabled list. The Mets have been routinely criticized for the way they handle issues of players health — see the brouhaha about Noah Syndergaard’s skipped MRI and eventual lat injury that’s had him on the shelf since April — so the Harvey decision just seems even more puzzling.

As a whole, the Mets injury list this season has been disheartening for fans who had World Series aspirations. Along with the injury struggles of Harvey and Syndergaard, starting pitchers Steven Matz and Zack Wheeler are currently on the DL and done for the season. Yoenis Cespedes is out for the season.

On Monday, the Mets also announced outfielder Michael Conforto, who enjoyed a breakout season in 2017, needs season-ending surgery to repair a torn capsule in his left shoulder, which came while he was swinging a bat. Infielder T.J. Rivera also needs Tommy John surgery on his throwing arm, which will happen this week.

Now let’s just hope Matt Harvey doesn’t end up on the disabled list again.

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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at mikeozstew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz