Coming into the season, the New York Mets were hoping that Wilmer Flores would transition into the role of a super utility player in the infield. He would be able to bounce to all four infield positions, with sights set on the corners especially.
The Mets looked like they were going to have one of their strongest benches in years, with the likes of Alejandro De Aza, Juan Lagares, Eric Campbell, and Kevin Plawecki offering their services when they would be called upon.
Unfortunately, Flores opened the year as cold as the New York weather in winter, finishing April batting a paltry .107, with only one home run, one run batted in, and an OPS of .408, or to put it another way, around the OBP of our beloved ex-second baseman Ted Williams…er, Daniel Murphy.
A hamstring injury derailed Flores in early May, and sent him on the disabled list from May 12th to May 29th. During the rehab, Flores worked at first base in preparation of spending some time there following the loss of Lucas Duda to a stress fracture in his back. However, the Mets traded for veteran first baseman James Loney, who was playing with Triple-A El Paso, the affiliate of the San Diego Padres.
Then the disheartening news hit about David Wright‘s herniated disk in his neck, and now Flores was back to starting at third base for the foreseeable future. Which is not to say that he’s the most perfect candidate to stick at third.
FanGraphs rates Flores as a below average fielder at third, and before Friday night’s game against Milwaukee, he’s registered a UZR of -1.4 at the hot corner. I’m not too concerned with his fielding prowess at third however. Flores served as an adequate shortstop last year, and grew more into the position as the year went on. So I have little doubt that he can adjust to playing the hot corner at an average level.
The bright spot for Flores since his return from the disabled list on May 29th has been his offense slowly returning to form. Since June 3rd, Flores has put up a slash line of .476/.542/.571 with two runs batted in, three runs scored, and three walks. Before Friday night’s game, Flores has seen his slash line rise significantly since the end of April, now at .247/.322/.346, for an OPS of .668, .260 points higher than at the end of April.
Then Flores doubled down on Friday night with three more hits to lift his average to .267 his wRC+ to 100, and his OPS to a respectable .709.
Flores also came through in the clutch when he hit drove in the eventual game winning run in Wednesday’s game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, where in the top of the 10th inning and the bases loaded, Flores muscled the first pitch from LHP Cory Luebke into center field for the go-ahead run. The Mets would go on to win the game 6-5, a big win insomuch that it at least prevented the Pirates from sweeping the Mets in two days.
“It was definitely big,” Flores said of his hit. “Winning this game was huge for us. We stayed right there. We kept pushing, and we got the result.”
Now with the Mets trading right-handed pitching prospect Akeel Morris to the Atlanta Braves for veteran Kelly Johnson, a reunion for Johnson and the Mets, Flores might have a bit of competition pushing him for playing time. Johnson, 34, is seen as a guy that will play the corner spots for the Mets, while also spelling Neil Walker some at second base.
But having Johnson on the bench means that if Flores starts struggling again for large periods of time, his playing time will diminish. Having that motivation and push is a positive, as it keeps players hungry and battling, hoping not to lose precious playing time and falling farther down the ranks.
And of course, the Mets may very well look outside the organization to make a trade on adding another major bat to this lineup. Losing middle of the order bats in Wright, Duda, and d’Arnaud hurts no matter how well your team is equipped with and solid role and bench players. They play a big part in ensuring the team stays afloat until the big bats come back healthy.
However, the more Flores continues to hit and get comfortable at third, the better chance he has of at remaining there until Wright eventually comes back, looking more and more like towards the end of August.
There are still some kinks Flores needs to work through in his game this season, including lowering his strikeout percentage which is currently at 17.8%. Last year he was at 12.4%, and in 2014 at 11.3%. The good news is that Flores is drawing walks at a higher frequency, currently at an even 10% on the year, up more than 6% from last season.
Flores, 24, is now slightly ahead from where he was last year in terms of overall numbers. Flores posted a line of .263/.295/.408 with an OPS of .703 in 2015. His BABIP was .273, and his wRC+ was 95.
The power has been lacking thus far, with only seven extra-base-hits on the year so far. However, with increased playing time, I suspect Flores will start to see those numbers rise, especially since hitters tend to relish the warmer weather for better hitting conditions. He is actually showing some more aggressiveness in the last few games and he’s not just making contact – he’s making hard contact and driving the ball to the opposite field. That’s something new and if it continues, watch out.
