Anthony Gruppuso – USATODAY Sports
After it looked like he was starting to turn a corner, New York Mets shortstop Wilmer Flores has come back down to earth, and fast. In a critical series against the Washington Nationals, Flores made an egregious era on what should have been an easy double play, an error that opened the floodgates and was a catalyst in a Mets loss. The following night, Flores struck out four times, dropping his season line to a meager .240/.278/.387. Flores was then left out of the starting lineup the next two games with the hope that the time off can help him get him back on the right track.
With New York having Monday off, Flores Adidas Nitrocharge 2015 will have three straight days off, and coming off of a break like that, Flores needs to emerge as a more consistent player both offensively and defensively. Even with low expectations for Flores defensively, he’s had far too many errors this season — seven to be specific. He needs to be able to make the play on any ball he can reach, but that hasn’t been the case; aside from the botched double play against Washington last week, he’s struggled with the accuracy on his throws, despite having more than enough arm strength to play shortstop.
The Mets expect Flores to have some defensive shortcomings, which they’d be fine with if he were producing offensively, but that has yet to be the case. Despite being tied for the team lead in home runs, Flores has struggled to be a productive offensive player, outside of one eight-game stretch in which he had 12 hits, including all three of his home runs. For the season, Flores’ numbers are almost identical to what they are over his 127 career games in the majors, and those numbers are not enough to make up for a player with Flores’ defensive limitations at shortstop, even if he were making all the routine plays.
The Mets do want to give Flores a suitable amount of time to prove himself, which is clearly the plan after the team declined to acquire another shortstop during the offseason. However, the Mets also want to field a team that will help them remain competitive in the NL East and won’t be as patient with young players as they have in past years. With Matt Reynolds being one of the team’s top performing prospects in April with a line of .326/.393/.543, the Mets seemingly have another option at shortstop who’s ready at any time, putting pressure on Flores to get his act together.
After getting three full Nike Kobe 10 GS days off to put his recent struggles behind him, it may be now or never for Flores with regard to staking his claim over the Mets’ shortstop job. He needs to come out of this break a more consistent player, both offensively and defensively. Another week or two of struggling at the plate, mixed with a few more errors in the field, and the Mets may not hesitate to give Reynolds a chance at shortstop and relegate Flores to the bench — this time for more than a just a few days.
Bryan Zarpentine is a New York Mets writer at RantSports.com. ?Like him on Facebook, follow him on twitter @BZarp and add him on Google.
Related links:
10 New York Mets’ Prospects Who Were Outstanding in April
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