TC’s Comments on Flores & First Base

Over the last few days, there has been an uproar from some fans and reporting from a host of outlets due to comments Terry Collins made regarding Wilmer Flores and what position he might play in the coming weeks.

Aug. 11, 2013; Phoenix, AZ, USA: New York Mets third baseman Wilmer Flores (4) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a home run in the ninth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

The gist of it, is that Collins was asked whether Flores would see time in the outfield, and Collins shot down the idea.  Anyone who follows the Mets closely already knew Flores had no shot of being placed in the outfield, so that part of the quote wasn’t news.  During the same media session, Collins was also asked about Flores and first base.  According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, this was Collins’ response:

Using the above quote, there have been a number of articles that have had definitive sounding titles that lead the reader to believe that Collins said flat out that Flores wouldn’t play first base – ever.  Not only are these headlines not accurate, they’re (intentionally or not) deceptive.  Furthermore, the content of the articles in question didn’t clear up the incorrect titles.

Puma’s tweet notes that Collins mentioned that he “probably” wouldn’t take a look at Flores at first base “anytime soon.”  How anyone infers from that quote that Collins made a blanket statement about Flores not playing first base is beyond me.  It’s obvious that if/when David Wright returns, Flores will not be playing third base anymore at the big league level.  The Mets have serious reservations about Flores’ ability to handle second base, so that likely leaves them with the option of trying out Flores at first base (where he played a bit while with AAA Las Vegas) or not playing him at all.

To dissect this a bit further, it’s puzzling why anyone who follows the Mets day in and day out would think Terry Collins is the person making decisions as to where top prospects will end up playing.  This is a manager who (for the moment) is without a contract for 2014.  Even if Collins was signed for the next several years, deciding whether or not Flores would see time at first base wouldn’t be up to him.  That decision will come from Sandy Alderson.

Instead of twisting Terry Collins’ quotes around to (purposefully or not) create a mini uproar, we should wait to see what Alderson has to say about Flores and what position he might play in the future.

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