NY Mets: 8 Ex-Amazins who killed it with other teams in 2021

PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 23: Chris Flexen #64 of the New York Mets delivers a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the Grapefruit League spring training game at First Data Field on February 23, 2019 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
PORT ST. LUCIE, FLORIDA - FEBRUARY 23: Chris Flexen #64 of the New York Mets delivers a pitch against the Atlanta Braves during the Grapefruit League spring training game at First Data Field on February 23, 2019 in Port St. Lucie, Florida. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 4
Next
Mets
Aug 6, 2018; New York City, NY, USA; New York Mets first baseman Wilmer Flores (4) singles against the Cincinnati Reds during the third inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Andy Marlin-USA TODAY Sports /

These two former Mets, both on the World Series roster in 2015, had really nice seasons in 2021 — even if they weren’t spectacular.

Steven Matz

Matz’s Mets (say that ten times fast) career was interesting, to say the very least. From the time of his first interview on SNY with Kevin Burkhardt, there was a ton of hype surrounding the southpaw. He started out well but never was able to take that step into becoming a reliable, middle-of-the-rotation starter. By the time the Mets shipped him off to Toronto before the 2021 season, he was coming off of a just horrific season where he threw just 30.2 innings to the tune of 9.68 ERA.

Matz didn’t blow the doors off of anything in 2021, but by the time it was over, he still turned in his statistically best season by pretty much every metric since 2016. He started out on fire, posting a 2.31 ERA through his first five starts, and while he certainly stumbled at times throughout the season, he finished with a very respectable 3.82 ERA. Nothing crazy, but certainly a nice and solid season.

Wilmer Flores

The all-time leader in walk-off hits for Mets, Flores holds a special place in many Mets fans’ hearts. A good role player who could man all four spots on the infield (even if he couldn’t play them that well), Flores was an important part of the Mets teams of the mid-2010s. He was never a star, and he was statistically about an average hitter, but he had an uncanny knack for coming up big in the most important spots.

In 2021, his second year in San Francisco, Flores wasn’t spectacular by any means. He’s not going to appear on any MVP ballots and he’s not going to win a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger. What Flores did do though was have the best season of his career in terms of bWAR, putting up a 1.6 mark. He hit .262/.335/.447 with 18 home runs, tied for the most in his career.

Most importantly, Flores was a key cog in a 107 win San Francisco Giants team that shocked the baseball community. While their season (and especially Wilmer’s) ended unceremoniously, the Giants were one of the best stories in baseball in 2021, and Flores was a key part of it.