Just Mets

Both Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson have said over the last couple of days the Mets will stay the course with Wilmer Flores as their primary shortstop for the time being.

Having said that, Collins started Ruben Tejada at shortstop on Saturday night, and said it was possible he could start Tejada again on Sunday afternoon.

“After [Friday] night, you can tell [Flores] just needs to take a deep breath and forget about it for a day,’’ Collins told reporters on Saturday afternoon. “With Monday off we’ve talked about whether we even give him [Sunday] off, say “Hey, look, get some energy back, forget about what’s happened and move forward.’”

Flores has committed errors in three consecutive games and now has seven for the season – the team has 17 in their first 25 games.

“When you’re talking about Wilmer Flores starting to struggle, that becomes a huge issue for the manager,’’ Collins explained. “Not only when to give him a day off, but even during those days off to make sure he’s still a relevant piece of the puzzle, that he’s not just ‘go sit on the other end of the bench, I don’t want to see you today.’ Because you’ve got to be very careful; the mental psyche of a young player can affect him for a long time.’’

Jacob deGrom was clearly upset by the poor defense behind him on Thursday night. And if he’s upset by it, he probably isn’t the only one bothered by it. As much as I feel for Flores, it’s understandable. Poor defense – be it from Flores or somebody else – has been the clear difference in at least four of their last eight losses, and it’s just not acceptable for either the pitchers or the team in general.

Unless Flores buttons it up quick, it’s just too hard to see the Mets letting this continue beyond a certain point. That point could be soon, especially with David Wright supposedly getting closer to returning in the next week or so.

Of course, there could be a lot in flux when Wright returns, especially if Dilson Herrera performs in that time as well…