Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
Position: 2B, 3B & 1B
Age: August 6th, 1991 (30)
Traditional Stats: 96 G, 82 H, 15 HR, 55 RBI, .248 BA, .328 OBP
Advanced Stats: 1.5 WAR, .336 wOBA, 119 wRC+
Rundown
After the Mets acquisition of Daniel Vogelbach from Pittsburgh, the Mets are actively looking to improve their splits versus left-handed pitchers. Although names like Willson Contreras and J.D. Martinez are being thrown out there, another name could fill that void could possibly come from former Mets infielder Wilmer Flores.
The 30-year old played the better part of six seasons with the Mets and was a menace to left-handed pitching through most of his tenure in New York. In 2016, Flores became the primary starter at shortstop for the Mets and his numbers against left handed pitchers shined including putting up a slash line of .340/.383./.710 with 11 home runs and 28 RBI’s. Added to that, he put up a 1.093 OPS along with .351 wOBA and a wRC+ of 193 against lefties.
Currently in 2022, his numbers against lefties are down from his usual trends slashing just .228/.325/.436 with an OPS of .761 versus lefties this season. Overall though, Flores is still putting up decent numbers this season with a slash line of .248/.328/.445 with a 1.5 WAR, .336 wOBA and a 119 wRC+ combined. Now, why mention his Mets numbers against lefties as well as a slight downturn in that same category this season? As it stands, even with this slight downturn, Flores has kept his moniker of hitting lefties well in-tact sporting a career slash line of .273/.321/.495 with an OPS of .816, a WRC+ of 118 and a career wOBA of .343.
The Mets are looking to improve hitting against left-handed pitchers and players like J.D. Davis and Dom Smith haven’t been able to fill the void. Flores presents an option of familiarity on the right hand side of the plate, and could serve as a decent fallback option as well as a much needed upgrade for the designated hitter role.
Package
As it stands, Flores is on a 3rd year option of an initial 2-year contract signed before the 2020 season, thus making him a free agent after this season, so any type of trade would more than likely be seen as a rental option for New York. The Giants, are willing to ship off free agents to be, including Carlos Rodon and Joc Pederson and Flores fits that bill. A possible deal would more than likely demand a lower end minor-league or a fringe 40-man roster player for a possible deal to get done.
Albeit, not a flashy move by any means, bringing back Wilmer Flores to New York would certainly do a few things. It would be seen as an upgrade to a need against left-handed pitching. One would hope that returning to Queens could reinvigorate some of those numbers with a return to familiarity. Secondly, it would add another jolt of energy to the fan base, as to this day, Flores is still beloved by many after the no-trade and then subsequent walk-off home run versus the Nationals in 2015.
This would be one “friend” that would be welcomed back with open arms.
