The shortstop issue has been a hot topic for discussion throughout the entire off-season, and as February nears, it appears as if Wilmer Flores will be the go-to guy. In an awesome piece via Newsday, the youngster talks about the hard work and effort he has put in this winter in order to prove that he is capable of handling the everyday shortstop gig.
Wilmer knows he has doubters, as he said "You hear people talking all the time. Is this guy going to be a shortstop? Can he play shortstop? Can he not?" but he has tried to ignore them, saying "You know what? I can't listen to that. I want to play the way I've been playing."
Marc Carig, the author of the piece, does a nice job in assessing the current situation, as he is caught between a crossfire with the financial issues and the fanbase's relentless desire to field a contending team. The thing is, Flores doesn't need to be an elite defensive shortstop. Essentially, if he holds up his own, and gives solid offensive value, he should be golden.
"He hasn't played there," said teammate David Wright. "He was playing third, he was playing some second, then all of a sudden they wanted to throw him at shortstop at the big-league level. Obviously, there's an adjustment period."
Despite this, Wright told the media to temper their expectations. "I'm not saying he's going to be Omar Vizquel at shortstop."
Flores has only had 2 weeks off during this entire off-season. The other time has been spent at winter ball in Venezuela, and attending a voluntary conditioning program for the second straight winter.
The 23 year old hit .251/.286/.378 in 78 games with the major league squad last season. However, many of those at-bats were spotty and inconsistent as Terry Collins insisted on starting Ruben Tejada. In Las Vegas, where he spent most of the 2014 year, he slugged .323/.367/.568 with 13 homers in only 55 games.
It's hard not to feel bad for Flores at this point, but you have to admire his determination. Hopefully he has a big spring training showing, and makes Sandy and Co. look good for passing on many other more proven options.
I've been stuck on my thoughts regarding Flores for a long time. I've heard the going rate for shortstops like Desmond, Tulowitzki, Castro, and others, and haven't been willing to part with Syndergaard, Matz, as well as different prospects. I'm confident that Wilmer will put up (at least) league-average offensive numbers, but the defense up the middle between he and Daniel Murphy does worry me. This is even more concerning because of the organization's reliance on their young pitching.
I don't foresee us acquiring a shortstop anytime soon, and I have to admit it is very disappointing. The silver lining is that Flores is working extremely hard, and most fans probably hope that the effort will pay off in Spring Training.
We'll see.
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