If you followed David Wright’s career, watched how he ascended from mega-prospect to All-Star to Mets captain and beyond, what happened Saturday afternoon at Citi Field was no surprise at all.

According to Andy Martino of SNY, in 2004, the Mets could have traded third baseman David Wright to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for outfielder Carlos Beltran. Former Mets general manager Jim Duquette outlined the story to Martino, explaining that the Mets were looking to improve pitching and offense, and Kansas City had Beltran available.

By the time David Wright stepped into the Citi Field press conference room early Saturday afternoon, the faces of his past were already assembled there. One row of chairs held his most cherished former teammates,

Cheers turned to groans as the Mets made some costly defensive mistakes and the offense came up empty on a few big chances in a 6-2 loss to the Reds.

Wright missed more than four months of the 2015 season, diagnosed with spinal stenosis, before he returned to the lineup in late August, with the Mets holding a healthy lead in the NL East. Collins recalled Wright telling him he didn’t expect to hit in the middle of the lineup when he came back or disturb the way they were performing.