Former NY Mets manager signs off on team reuniting with fan favorite

Terry Collins hasn’t managed the New York Mets for nearly a decade yet remains fully in-touch with what’s going on with the team. Asked a question with only one answer, he signed off on the idea of the Mets reuniting with Wilmer Flores.

Batting .342 in 11 games in Mexico, we shouldn’t look at those statistics to make any sort of determination. It’s the Mexican Independent League. He should, at 34, remain one of the league’s best hitters and if not probably hang it up.

Off of a .241/.307/.379 year with the San Francisco Giants that included 16 home runs and 71 RBI, the Mets have the conceivable space to put him on their roster even if playing time and his role would be scarce.

Wilmer Flores would be both a popular Mets addition and someone who’d have a chance to boost the offense

You can’t seriously say Flores would do much worse than Andy Ibanez or Austin Slater. Take your pick.

With uncertainty surrounding Jorge Polanco, it wouldn’t hurt to send a scout down to Mexico to get a closer look. Flores had a ridiculously strange year last season with a .229 batting average in the first month but with 28 RBI. He hit .225 in each of the last two months, hitting 7 of his 16 home runs before getting to May.

Against lefties, Flores wasn’t particularly strong. He batted .236/.285/.386 against them versus .244/.317/.694 against righties. This might actually be to his benefit. The Mets, as much as they love to pinch hit this year, would have reason to keep Flores in the game.

Where does he fit on the field? First base is the only position he can probably play these days and those opportunities would be limited. Worth -1 OAA last year in only 208 innings at the position, we’d need to think of him mostly as a DH.

An inevitable DFA could always lurk if Flores underperforms, which is the one argument against it. The Mets aren’t going to release Polanco with the money he’s owed, if he ever does come back. Vientos would have to give them nothing and much less than Flores to dismiss him and stick with one of the club’s most popular players of all-time let alone recent memory.

It would be very non-David Stearns to make a move like this. However, if the team was willing to take a chance on Tommy Pham, why wouldn’t they with Flores on a minor league deal at minimum? If the season spirals, have him around in July and sell a few tickets on key anniversaries to commemorate what he meant. Or maybe you get that veteran presence we’ve been waiting for in the clubhouse. MJ Melendez is great, but he’s not the kind of player with the experience to help give the Mets an identity.

The idea of signing Flores should, however, be far less about what he means to the fans and more so an attempt to get some consistent offense on the team. Forget what he did in the past for the Mets or even what he's doing in Mexico. He had a better year last season than some of the other options they're trotting out there.

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