Lost in the hoopla of Steven Matz’s big league debut and astounding performance was Wilmer Flores shifting to second base in game two of the club’s abbreviated doubleheader against the Reds on Sunday afternoon.
Flores had played 69 games at shortstop in 2015 and none at second base until Sunday afternoon.
It had been suggested Flores would shift to second base when Daniel Murphy returns from the disabled list, now scheduled for Tuesday against the Cubs at Citi Field. In all probability, that means Dilson Herrera will be optioned back to Las Vegas where he can get more seasoning and play everyday.
“[Flores] played fine at shortstop,” Collins explained after Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of the Reds. “He made a couple of errors that cost us a couple of runs at times. But I looked through the league and he caught the baseball.
“He can play second base,” Collins continued. “He showed us that last September. And look in September, we played pretty good with Wilmer Flores playing second, with Dan at third and Ruben at shortstop. With Dan coming back, we certainly don’t know what the time frame is with David and I think this is going to be our best infield that we’re going to run out there on a nightly basis.”
It’s hard to disagree with that assessment, at least until the Mets can fortify the infield from the outside, if that happens at all.
The thing is, the experiment with Flores at shortstop should have ended a long time ago.
He ranked fourth worst among qualified shortstops in defensive runs saved (DRS), he ranked 13th out of the 25 qualified shortstops with a 1.0 ultimate zone rating (UZR), and generally struggled with the routine play, ranking 24th among the 25 shortstops with a 94.3 percent completion rate. He also committed 10 errors at shortstop, the seventh worst among qualified shortstops.
It’s not just about the errors and the statistics above, the range and the awkward footwork of the individual. It’s the impact that has on the entire rest of the infield. His foot speed impacts the necessary range of the third baseman as it forces that player to possibly cover more ground to his left than with an averaged speed shortstop. It also forces the second baseman to cover more ground behind second base for the same reasons.
But Flores deserves some commendation for his effort. He was asked to play a position which was difficult for him at this level. He kept his head up despite some very deep struggles which cost the team runs and games. He managed to stay reasonably productive at the plate throughout the process. After all, he’s still tied for second among big league shortstops with ten home runs.
But this is a wise change the Mets are making. It’s better for them, and probably going to be better for the player.
Just Mets 