Terry Collins told reporters on Saturday that Wilmer Flores could miss the rest of the regular season due to his ailing wrist injury.
Flores told reporters that he plans on trying to take swings on Sunday and will try to see how he feels after that, but he remains worried about the bone bruise in his wrist.
He received a second cortisone injection on Monday to try and alleviate the pain and irritation.
Previous Update – Sep 22
It has now been 12 days since Wilmer Flores hurt his right wrist in a home-plate collision against the Braves in Atlanta, but there is still no return in sight.
Flores remains unable to swing a bat despite a second cortisone shot on Monday. Manager Terry Collins said Flores will almost certainly remain out of the lineup tonight with the Mets facing a left-hander.
“I’m really concerned,” Collins said on Wednesday. “We pointed to tomorrow night’s game as a big game for him because it’s a lefty and he just kills lefties. He won’t be a part of it, I can tell you right now, the way he is today. I’m really concerned about it. I’m really worried about it.”
“Wilmer Flores is our dynamic guy from the right side. And without him, you’re going into face some of those relievers late in the game. He can make a big difference, and without him, it’s a little different.”
The level of concern is DEFCON 4, Collins said to reporters.
Original Report – Sep 11
After Wilmer Flores ripped a two-out double in the top of the eighth with the score tied at 3, the slow-footed Flores remained in the game much to the consternation of everyone on Twitter and even Gary, Keith and Ron in the booth.
As fate would have it, when pinch hitter T.J. Rivera followed with a single, Flores was thrown out at the plate in a violent collision, sliding head first right into a brick wall named A.J. Pierzynski.
Flores laid on the ground dazed and eventually left the game with a neck injury. X-rays taken at Turner Field were negative, but Flores said he felt dizzy and was very sore.
“I feel a lot of pain right now. If you watch the play, home plate was open. I saw it open and my first thought was a head first slide, avoid the tag.”
“When I was sliding, he got the ball and he ran right into me. It’s one of those plays where I really want to score, and I tried to do too much and that’s why I got hurt.”
The Mets can ill afford to lose Flores, who has evolved into one of the top hitters in the NL versus left-handed pitchers, batting .343 with a .697 slugging percentage, 11 homers, and a 1.074 OPS in 99 at-bats entering play on Saturday.
“I should have ran for him there,” Terry Collins said after the game, acknowledging he was distracted and should have pinch run for Flores.
“I was trying to get the pitching set up. My fault. … He’s going to have a stiff neck. But we certainly have enough guys. We could have ran for him, which we should have. I was trying to get the pitching set up and get a pinch hitter in and got distracted. It’s my fault.” (ESPN New York)
The Braves ended up scoring the decisive run and handing the Mets a painful 4-3 defeat in 10 innings, while the St. Louis Cardinals and San Francisco Giants both won.
If Flores does miss some time, hopefully it’s not more than a day or two. But as for Collins losing focus at such a critical junction in the game, well that was certainly a costly faux pas as the Mets fall out of the wild card spot and potentially lose a key weapon in their offensive attack against LHP.
(Photos: USA Today)
