Jan. 21: The Diamondbacks have formally announced the signing.
Jan. 16, 3:00pm: Flores’ contract guarantees him $4.25MM, Passan tweets. He’ll earn a $3.75MM base salary in 2019 and have a $500K buyout on a $6MM option for the 2020 season.
2:22pm: The Diamondbacks are in agreement on a one-year contract with free-agent infielder Wilmer Flores, reports Jeff Passan of ESPN (via Twitter). The contract also contains a club option for a second season. Passan’s colleague, Pedro Gomez, had previously tweeted that the McNamara Baseball Group client was closing in on a deal with an NL West club, and Fancred’s Jon Heyman listed the D-backs as one of his suitors shortly thereafter. The deal is still pending completion of a physical.
Flores, 27, was non-tendered by the Mets earlier this winter in his final offseason or arbitration eligibility. He’d been projected by MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz to earn $4.7MM, and the new-look Mets front office felt that sum to be too costly coming given the team’s crowded infield mix (which has since become more cluttered) and a diagnosis of early onset arthritis in both knees.
Last season, Flores hit .267/.319/.417 with 11 homers and 25 doubles in 386 trips to the plate while seeing time at first base, second base, third base and (during interleague play) designated hitter for the Mets. That production is more or less in line with what Flores had done in each of the past two seasons, but it’s worth noting that Flores’ output against left-handed pitching cratered last season.
Typically, Flores’ right-handed bat is a thorn in the side of opposing southpaws, but he instead mustered a timid .237/.284/.326 slash in 135 plate appearances with the platoon advantage. That’s a far cry from the .314/.349/.620 slash that Flores registered in 324 PAs against lefties from 2015-17 and was obviously a cause for concern among Mets decision-makers.
With the Diamondbacks, Flores can bounce around the infield, giving the Snakes a right-handed complement to Jake Lamb (who struggles mightily against lefties) while also spelling Ketel Marte at second base. There’s also been talk of moving Marte to center field, and the addition of Flores could make that transition easier on the Diamondbacks, should Marte prove adept in the outfield come Spring Training. At the very least, perhaps Arizona could play Marte in center field against lefties and deploy Flores at second base those days, thus giving Jarrod Dyson (who has also struggled against southpaws in his career) some protection from same-handed pitchers.
The D-backs may not done adding complementary pieces to their infield and outfield mix, so it’s possible, too, that future signings/acquisitions will further shed some light on the manner in which the organization plans to utilize Flores.
Go get ’em, Wilmer. I’ll always cheer for this kid.
Yup. Gonna miss him. I was hoping he’d go to the AL. Eventually, I think he will finish his career as a Met.
Every time I think of him. I see tom Hanks yelling at him “Are you crying?, theres no crying in baseball”
Waste of 4 million dollars.
Dude is trash
i guess you must have had a much better MLB career to make such comments.
And I bet u say the same about nick punto lol sometimes it’s ok to say if a player is trash like Flores.
WILMER!!!
I was just thinking he would be a great utilityman, and thought he would get picked up earlier Glad he signed.
Good for him. Not a great player but somebody you know loves the game. Oh and he kills lefties last year not withstanding.
Always been a fan of his, wish the Cardinals would’ve signed him.
I’m a fan of this guy. Surprises me that he didn’t get a lot of interest in free agency because he’s still young and if you look at his numbers he’s really a decent player even if he’s a off the bench player and not an every day player. I mean you can definitely do worse with some of the guys out there. Plus he plays with heart and passion and he hustles. I like that, especially when you have guys like Machado out there who hit the ball to the wall and could easily have a double or triple but end up at first because they aren’t “Johnny hustle” lol
As a Mets fan, I am happy to see the team move on from Wilmer. He’s a lovable guy with a penchant for being clutch, but I saw other fans too often overrate his value because of these things. As a whole, he was a mediocre hitter with poor defense.
He was always a clutch player.Not a great talent,but he was a valuable Met.Sorry to see him go
Prior to our wedding, my wife was always a clutch player. Nowadays she drives an automatic ‘no’.
I dont understand, but think it is a LOL? A lot?
Great guy, nice utility player. could be a nice deadline flip piece.
He reminds me of Martin Prado without the defense. He’s a good utility player.
He was loved in ny and will be loved in Arizona too.
He’ll show an uptick in HR’s there. I think it’ll be a nice fit
Good luck Wilmer will never forget his walk off vs the Nats.
Good luck Flo, you were always a class act.
LGM!
I don’t think Zona is going to be as bad as many believe…
Goldschmidt, Corbin, and Pollock is a whole lot of subtraction.
Those 3 are huge losses and throw in Buchholz, Jay, & Descalso who all played decent and have to be replaced..
I think Arizona could easily finish in last, below SF & SD. SD is on the rise and SF had significant injuries last year Posey, Belt, Panik, MadBum, Shark, Cueto. And finished 9 games back of Arizona while sucking bad at the end of the year.
i believe it is a lot to subtract, but Souza, Ray, and Lamb will produce better when healthy, and Kelly/Weaver can cover Corbin’s hole to some degree. Also will be getting Walker back, and will probably make an OF addition and maybe one at C. (that or Avila will bounce back, which he will be hard pressed not to given just how abysmal his 2018 was) On top of all that they will get Walker back at some point. They could have a pretty solid rotation and OF to go along with a passable IF and bullpen. (which will also see at least the addition of a rental in all likelyhood)
The Dbacks are going to be putrid this year. I see a 5th place finish.
Good Luck Wilmer! We know you’ll always bleed blue and orange.
Good luck Wilmer! Will miss seeing you in orange and blue!
Was hoping the Tigers would swoop on him for the 1B/2B hole, especially with his multiple years of team control remaining. Always loved watching him play for my Mets
Multiple years of control remaining? You do know he was a free agent?
He was not a free agent due to completing three arbitration years. He was a free agent due to being non-tendered. This is either his final or second to last arbitration year.
5 yrs, 3 days service time. 2019 was his final arb season.
Dbacks got red of Goldschmidt just in time he will suck in st Louis, He suck for fore 5-6 month will be longer in 2019.
said the sour dbacks fan
@larry48: English please?
Ass
I really liked Flores. Always came through in the clutch. Any player who openly cries on the field in front of 20k fans plus another couple hundred thousand via television, is a player I’d want to keep. And it’s not like he wasn’t productive. I wish him the best in Arizona. I always felt with 600 ab’s he could be a .260 25 80 type of hitter. He plays multiple positions and has his head on straight. Good luck in Arizona. DBacks fans…you will love Flores. Plays hard…very good in the clutch. He will def earn that contract and then some
America. What a country. Get fired and your next job pays over $4m. Buys a lot of Kleenex should he get traded or released again. Having said that, I’m another rooting for him. I’ll root for anyone who passionately tries hard and doesn’t cheat with PEDs.
“doesn’t cheat with PEDs”
Neither did the cheaters until they got caught.
is there some weird system you use to tell which players cheat and which ones do not?
Ever been on a jury? Your told to look only at the evidence before you and accept all, part or zero % of the spoken testimony. In other words use your eyes and ears and make your best judgement on one’s credibility. Many not “charged”, others not convicted that I believe cheated the game and others. Committed fraud against the game and theoretically took salary than another could have earned. Even those that prevail in court are found “not guilty”, not “innocent”. Papi, A-Rod, Sosa, Bonds, Sheffield, etc. would never get my HOF vote if I had one. Piazza and Bagwell should not be enshrined in my viewvjust to name two who are in.
Well, since you want to talk about a jury..none of those guys have been convicted by one.
Point was credibility and integrity should be considered when voting. People have opinions of Hilary and Trump. Why is this any different? If I believe someone cheated to get ahead, why would I support that? It only embolds more cheating.
You desperately need to learn the difference between evidence, and perceived credibility. You’re arguing that a jury must look only at the evidence, then going on a tangent about a belief system that isn’t based on evidence, against guys who have not been convicted by the very jury that you bought into the argument.
Go back and read your other post. If you can’t figure out where you’ve tripped over yourself by halfway through, stop and don’t bother.
You may have missed dewey’s point.
Surely you don’t mean to suggest no jury was ever fooled or misled. Lawyers from both sides try to do just that.
Is he crying about it?
Tears of joy
no, he’s not headed to Milwaukee this time.
Happy to have his heart and passion on the Diamondbacks, whether they’re rebuilding or not, he brings that personal touch to a team.
Alot of comments are right about flores. He will be really good. Especially in Arizona. So annoying that so many comments have so many dislikes. Especially the good ones. just for the sake of being a dic*
Why look at the likes or dislikes? I guess they’re for a PC or tablet because I don’t see them on my phone.
Some people need the validation that comes with a like. It’s..odd.
No it’s just negativity that isnt needed
… unless you’re a battery.
This likely means Ketel Marte moves to CF. I’m not a fan of that position change on the fly at the MLB level. Woof.
Highly doubt he gets a full time role up the middle. Probably will platoon with Jake Lamb at first.
Shame because they have great SS with ketel Marte
Is Wilma flowers gonna come off the bench? I honestly forgot the Mets fired him.
Marte plays 2B
He also plays ss.
2B, Ahmed is their SS
He’s a very underrated player and should help the Diamondbacks.
Brock Holt was underrated until 2018. I’m shocked that Flores is getting paid more. Holt plays better defense and more positions. Flores seems to have gained from his release. Again good for him. Thought the Mets should have kept him and released D’Arnault. Then again, they are better with TD and Lowry (plus minor leaguers they got from Cleveland) instead of Plewecki and Flores. Question though is could they have better spent the cost of Lowry? They will be good defensively in center but Lowry supposedly now becomes their best or scond best hitter for 19. He’s good, steady and clutch but is not.a third, fouth of fifth hitter on a championship team.
Mets have said he’s batting 2nd behind Nimmo and in front of Cano.
I think he could pretty much bat anywhere but clean up if needed.
I’d try to keep him out of the 5th spot too, but with 23 homers last season, could bat there if needed in any given game.
When Jeff McNeil starts with Nimmo in the lineup, I’d bat McNeil 2nd against righties, and move Lowrie down to 6th or 7th.
Hes a crybaby.
But a rich, famous and successful one.
D’backs are having an interesting off-season. While I don’t think they’re as good as the Dodgers or Rockies, ARI has the pieces to make some noise in 2019 if things go right.
Flores is great guy, humble, unassuming, yet confident who bled orange and blue and Mets fans love him for that and his capacity to come through in the clutch over and over. He’s calm and disciplined under offensive pressure.
But he’s also a defensive liability which is noticeable when over-exposed. His best position is first base. Best to keep him away from the left side of the diamond in anything but in-game need or spot starts.
On the basepaths, he’s just very slow although he runs things out and gives his all every time he’s on the field.
Good luck Wilmer., who BTW will get a huge and well deserved homecoming and standing ovation when he returns to Citi.
Good luck Wilmer.
This is a solid signing for the Dbacks. The dude destroys lefties and is one of the Kings of walk-offs. Sad to see him leave the Mets organization, but happy he’s playing for my fav west coast team. Wiiiiilmerrrrrrr ⚡️
Good luck Wilmer!!!!! You were a great Met!!!!
Good pick up for Arizona, always felt that if given a chance to start everyday at the position Flores likes best and is good at 2B (.990 Fld%) he would put up good numbers (.270-.280 avg)(20-25 Hr ) (60-70 RBI). He’s a good complimentary player batting 6th or 7th in the lineup. He is also very clutch and can play 1B well (.996 Fld%) and in an “emergency only” situation can also play 3B/Ss (just not very well). I’ll always be a fan go get’em Wilmer.