In an interview with NJ.com‘s Brendan Kuty, Wilmer Flores said he felt he was being low-balled by the Mets in the arbitration process. The Mets, who offered $1.8 million, and Flores, who filed at $2.2 million, could not reach an agreement before Sandy Alderson’s deadline. Flores won the arbitration case and will make $2.2 million in 2017.
Flores, 25, loves the Mets organization as he has been in the orange and blue since he was 16 years old. We all remember when he cried on the field when he thought he was traded away in 2015. This arbitration process, in which he had to directly oppose the Mets, was “one of the hardest things” he’s had to do.
“It was tough,” Flores said. “But we felt confident about it and we won it… It’s something that my team (of advisors) and I discussed and we had a good feeling about it and we went for it and we got it.”
In limited playing time with the Mets last season, Flores hit .267/.319/.469 with 16 home runs in 307 at bats. He is very valuable as he can play every infield position and demolishes left-handed pitching. Of course, he would prefer to start, but he performs his utility role admirably anyways.
“Last year was one of the hardest things I’ve had to work through in the utility role, but somehow I made it through,” he said. “I made the adjustment I had to make. This year, I’ll do the same thing. If I’m out there everyday, I’ll take it. If I’m not, I’ll just make the adjustment.”
