“The LTJ Editorial”
Author: Luis Tirado Jr.
Date: 8-13-13
Twitter: @LTJ81
Website: http://www.TheNYExpress.com
“So, where do we put Flores after Wright returns?”
3B Wilmer Flores took the NY Mets by storm when he was called up to the majors to fill in for the departure of 3B David Wright to the Disabled List. He has made quite the impact already, getting runs batted in, coming through with clutch hits when the team needs it, and has been a nice addition to the team overall. Reality says Wright won't be back until around early September due to his hamstring injury. It's great to see he has a steady backup behind him but once Wright comes back to the team, where does that leave Flores? What position is he going to be playing at?
In the minors, Flores has played many different positions. He's primarily been a Third Baseman, but has experience playing Shortstop and Second Base. He hasn't played in other positions other than the infield so that takes out the idea of putting him in the outfield. Besides, the way Lagares, Byrd, and Young Jr. have been playing great together, I don't see the team moving Flores out there. I could see a potential chance at First Base since Ike Davis/Josh Satin platoon there and they don't really have a steady consistent player starting. I know Davis has improved from slump, but it's nowhere near the production we should be getting out of First Base. Satin has been pretty good but is more of a depth kind of player that is a solid backup. Flores, while never playing at First Base, would be interesting to see if he can handle it. However, I still think the Mets will stick with Davis/Satin platooning there for next year as much as I would disagree with that. Now that I think about it, maybe it wouldn't be good to have Flores learn everything about First Base since it isn't his natural position. I'm pretty sure there would be some kind of learning curve and would regress his productivity.
Mets Manager Terry Collins has stated that Flores will see some playing time coming out of Second Base to give Daniel Murphy a well deserved day off or two to rest up. It's going to happen at some point this season, most likely when Wright returns to play. This move would gives Flores time to adjust to Second Base in the majors. Personally, after all is said and done I'd like to play out a scenario that might very well happen this upcoming offseason. As you know, the Mets want to spend some serious money to get some high quality players to the team. They want to acquire some top talent to accompany the solid talent around them and build a postseason contender in the NL East. With the aforementioned said, I see the Mets doing something smart that will essentially kill two birds with one stone. Trade Daniel Murphy.
Daniel Murphy is having of the best seasons of his career, batting .274, 9 HR's, 53 RBI's, 14 Stolen Bases, and an OBP of .307. He's been pretty healthy and has locked down Second Base pretty well. He's had a few defensive errors this year but nothing on a consistent basis. Plenty of teams out there are looking for a strong Second Baseman and similar to what the team did last year when trading R.A. Dickey, they want to get top quality in return. We could use some more pitchers, especially when it comes to our bullpen. I absolutely see the team trading Murphy for some quality arms and moving Flores to Second Base. Now you will have another solid player on the field starting alongside Wright. Flores looks to be the real deal and it would be silly to either send him back down to the minors or trade him away because we can't find a spot on the field for him.
2014 will have all eyes on the Mets and they need to have the best players on the field to have a final product that wins games. With a strong core centered around our high quality starting pitchers, we are just a few pieces away from contending for a Playoffs spot next year. It's been quite a long time since the Mets were in the postseason and the time is now to start making the right moves. I'm confident they will make the right choices needed to bring all the talent to the surface to bring some domination in every part of the game. I'm really excited for next season and I can't wait to see the damage Flores is going to do once he gets back on that field next year. As our new starting Second Baseman!
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2 comments:
Everybody seems to be hoping that Flores will play second base at least as well as Murph. Compare stats, and you'll see that he fields almost exactly like Dan Uggla.Are you willing to bet that he will bat like Uggla, too? I would feel better about trying him at first, unless he's being showcased for a winter trade.
Here's a thought.I have seen some comments on various blogs to the effect that David Wright may may need to move to first in the future. If this thought is also in the minfs of some of the front office, why not experiment with it when Wright comes back? Let Flores keep playing at his best position, and see how Wright pans out at first.Also, bearing in mind his back injury a couple of years ago, if this change IS in Wright's future, wouldn't it be better to see how it might work sooner than later?
All of this is conjecture, of course. But, if we want to keep Flores, it might be worth trying.
Hey Steve, thanks for the comment. While I do see your point, I kindly disagree. You can't just ship David Wright to another position he has never played before especially as he's become one of the best at that position. Plus while everyone is all excited about Flores, he's doing good now but who is to say he will pan out to be a superstar on the level of guys like Harvey, Wright, or Eric Young Jr.? Only time will tell but for now, I'd rather trade Murphy, send Flores to 2B, and keep Wright at his natural position.
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