Tim Britton of The Athletic got to hear from both Mickey Callaway and Wilmer Flores regarding the infielder’s outfield experiment that was tested in game action for the first time yesterday.
Callaway said this regarding his reasoning for trying this out:
“You saw why he needs to be playing multiple positions, because the kid can hit. We need to get him as many at-bats as we can this season.”
Considering the fact the Mets currently have a crowded infield, Flores is largely relegated to a pinch-hitter and platoon role with Adrian Gonzalez at first base.
The ability to play another position could help get him some extra playing time.
However, that is not the biggest reason that the Mets should be at least attempting to see if this is a plausible thing to enact during the regular season.
The bullpen is.
Callaway has hinted for much of the spring that the team would like to carry eight relievers, and in turn they would only carry four bench players.
As of now, those four players are one of Kevin Plawecki and Travis d’Arnaud (whichever is not starting), Jose Reyes, Juan Lagares, and Flores.
That leaves them with only one player, Lagares, that is a true outfielder until Michael Conforto returns.
So, unless the team wants to carry Zach Borenstein or Matt den Dekker on the Opening Day roster, the team is left with only one outfielder on the bench.
While I do not think anyone wants to see Flores starting games in the outfield, the ability to have comfort putting him out there if need-be would be very much welcomed.
Now, we all know how bad the Daniel Murphy experiment turned out.
However, the game has evolved dramatically and the more positions a player can add to their resume, the better. Flores seems to agree with this thinking too and said he’s “willing to do it.”
If there is a willingness to learn the position, there is no harm in testing it during Spring Training, where the results of it are not going to be harmful.
Even if the plan is to never use the player at the position, it is important to have the versatility just in case, as Houston Astros’ manager, A.J. Hinch concurs.
“It’s important to have versatility off the bench. Everyone on our bench can play a secondary position. For us, building a bench is trying to address some platoon advantages or matchups that we’re going to want to have.”
If it is good enough for the defending World Series champion, then it certainly should be something the Mets are willing to explore.
While Flores might not be 100% comfortable out there yet, he said this following his first game in left field:
“I’m going to need more time, but I played today, I saw what it was like and I feel good. We’ll see.”
It doesn’t matter whether he ever gets a regular season appearance in left field. It’s about having the ability to do so if the need arises. Versatility has become a key part of the game, and the Mets should not fall behind in that regard.
