Just Mets

The Mets defensive problems on the middle infield have been on display early in the 2015 season, and had been well chronicled throughout the winter.

Despite the problems, the Mets are off to a 15-6 start to the 2015 season. Still, Wilmer Flores, Daniel Murphy and Ruben Tejada have combined to produce a -0.1 defensive WAR on the middle infield, according to Baseball Reference, and combined for a -1 UZR -4 defensive runs saved, according to FanGraphs.

As such, a rival evaluator has suggested to Buster Olney of ESPN the Mets upgrade their middle infield defense, and should consider inquiring about Brewers SS Jean Segura availability as a defensive upgrade to Flores at shortstop.

So far, outside of two games, Flores defense has been passable at shortstop. In fact, he’s been far better at shortstop than Murphy has been at second base, and certainly has been better than Tejada defensively, which is a surprise.

And, Flores has hit and has been a huge part of the offense over the first 21 games of the season.

The question surrounding Flores will always be how long he can sustain this competence defensively, and whether or not he will be able to compensate for his bad days defensively with his offense at the plate. The problem is, poor defense on the middle infield hurts a club more than poor defense, say at first base. The point is, if Flores stumbles with his glove, it might not ultimately matter how well he hits.

If the Mets are eventually faced with a decision on Flores, my guess is they’d opt to evaluate Matt Reynolds before choosing to shop for alternatives outside the organization. But I do believe if the Mets are going to remain in contention, Flores will be a big part of that considering the value placed on his position.

As for Segura, he had a big year offensively in 2013, but stumbled last year, seeing his OPS drop from .752 to .614 during that span. He doesn’t strike out very much, but doesn’t walk a whole lot either, and coming into less hitter-friendly environment such as Citi Field could only water him down further. He is fast and he could benefit from a more cavernous environment like Citi Field and the other big parks in the National League East, but that’s at least partially dependent on his plate discipline and pitch selection improving.

Regarding Segura’s defense, he might not really be a defensive upgrade over anything they don’t already have, considering he’s error prone and doesn’t have particularly appealing peripheral numbers.

In other words, while this is worth watching considering Milwaukee’s struggles, if the Mets consider upgrading outside the organization, they might consider aiming higher first.

Segura, 25, has hit .296 with a .321 on-base percentage and a .704 OPS over his first 21 games of the 2015 season with four doubles, a home run and eight RBI. He will be arbitration eligible for the first time in 2016, and can be a free agent after the 2018 season.