Player Profile: Wilmer Flores

     Wilmer Flores has been a solid bat throughout every level he's played in, the problem has always been with his glove. His glove has caused a lot of people to not want him playing every day at shortstop. The thought of his bat in a lineup has forced the Mets to find him a spot in the field. Flores has been tried at second base, shortstop, and third base. Even though Flores probably won't stay at shortstop for the long term, for the short term, he will probably be a shortstop. From his minor league stats in 2014. In 220 at bats he had a slash line of .323/.367/.568 and 13 home runs. His numbers looked decent for a rookie. He had a slash line of .251/.286/.378 with six homers and 29 RBI. I would hope that in 2015 his numbers are going up.

     The New York Mets starting shortstop job is his to lose. He goes into spring training were his main competition is Ruben Tejada (Matt Reynolds could be in the discussions too). Matt Reynolds would have to really impress to make this squad but still will probably be starting in triple-A. I think Flores, if he's given the opportunity to get around 500 at bats, gets about 15 homers, with a .250 avg while batting 8th.

     I really like Flores's bat but his glove is not even an average glove. It will be really tough to watch him at shortstop during this 2015 season. If he is given the full season at shortstop, I think he makes in the neighborhood of 20-25 errors. His glove will most likely lose the Mets more games than his bat will win the Mets games. For a team that is going to rely on pitching this year, defense should be a close second. I just think Flores is a man without a position currently and since he has played shortstop before, the Mets threw him there. Maybe Flores works really hard at becoming an average shortstop and just making the plays he needs to make. There is a guy on the other side of second base that did that a few years ago that earned him a starting spot and finally became All-Star. Daniel Murphy looked horrible at second when he first started there but he worked really hard the position and his bat kept him in the lineup. Hopefully Flores can do the same this year. Working on shortstop while not losing too many games for the Mets.

     All that being said, I don't think Flores stays at shortstop for the whole year. Flores's situation reminds me of Melvin Mora. The Mets put him at shortstop, he lost a game with an error from the Mets and in, what seemed like the next day, was traded to the Orioles for Mike Bordick. Melvin Mora went on to have a really nice career with the Orioles. Maybe it was the six kids Mora had or maybe the Mets just didn't give him enough time to develop into what he became.

      I would like to see the Mets give Flores a little bit of time to become a very good player. Unless of course they can get a really good player for him, someone better than Bordick, I'd like to see Flores play and earn his spot in the lineup while his value goes up with his bat and his glove becoming better. Hopefully his work ethic is much better than it was when he reported to camp over weight. He could be a pleasant surprise if given the opportunity to excel.