The Wilmer Flores Experiment Shouldn't Be Viewed as a Failure

In the minds of most New York Mets' fans, the hunt for Jose Reyes' replacement -- now four seasons after his uncontested free-agent departure -- is still an ongoing journey. Needless to say, current Mets' shortstop Wilmer Flores' performance through May is doing little to inspire fans to move on.

Despite a respectable park-adjusted 100 wRC+, Flores is currently hitting .238, while only having drawn five walks over 110 plate appearances.

And his defense? According to UZR/150, the 23-year-old's 4.8 metric ranks 13th amongst all eligible shortstops. But then again, just three games ago, his UZR/150 sat at minus-8.5. Flores also made his 8th error in dramatic fashion on Thursday, handing the Chicago Cubs two runs.

In an off-season where the Mets' greatest need was a shortstop, general manager Sandy Alderson's decision to knight Wilmer Flores as the starter might retrospectively seem like, well, a mistake.

But perhaps Mets' fans -- and the baseball world -- should cut Alderson and Flores some slack.

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