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New York Mets Have an Underdog in Shortstop Competition

By Michael Papandrea

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The New York Mets have a huge question mark at shortstop still as spring training gets underway. Is there an underdog option that could win the job?

Terry Collins talked to the New York Post on Monday about a potential candidate for the starting shortstop job whose name isn’t Wilmer Flores or Ruben Tejada. The man Collins is referring to is the New York Mets second round draft pick of 2012, Matt Reynolds.

In his first two seasons playing in the minor leagues, Reynolds struggled offensively, recording a .242 batting average between 2012-13. Last season, the 24-year-old was able to turn that around by compiling a slash line of .343/.405/.454 with 6 home runs in 478 at-bats between the Mets Double-A and Triple-A affiliates. Those numbers aren’t the only thing that has impressed Collins.

“I’ve read all of the reports and one of the things that stands out about Matt is every report you read, somewhere in the report it talks about being a baseball player,” Collins told the Post. “I look at the St. Louis Cardinals and what they have done, and they produce baseball players; those guys that maybe do nothing great, but a lot of good things. You read the reports on Matt and he’s a similar kind of player.”

This is high praise from the skipper, who seems to be a fan of the way Reynolds plays the game. But for Flores, this is just another case of Collins opening the door for another shortstop. Just one day earlier, Collins was talking about giving Tejada a chance to win the job out of spring training.

“I’m not saying that Wilmer Flores won’t be the shortstop,” Collins said. “I’m not saying that. Alls is I’m saying is that I’m giving this other guy a chance.”

It seems like the opportunities for Tejada to win the starting job are endless. Last season, when it finally looked like Flores was going to take over the starting role, he caught the flu, and Tejada went on a poorly timed hot streak that would keep him in the lineup for the time being. Eventually, Flores would reclaim the starting job, but was taken out of the lineup sporadically to give Tejada playing time. Flores would go on to hit .251/.286/.378 in 2014. Despite his struggles, he did have some bright spots, including two 6 RBI games, joining Carlos Delgado, Mike Piazza, and Robin Ventura as the only Mets to accomplish that feat.

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Despite Flores being the clear favorite to open the season at shortstop, Collins has never guaranteed the job is his and only his. Many people have looked at this and taken it as Collins not having Flores’ back. To me, this is not the case. I believe that Collins only says most of the things he says to let Flores know that he has to work harder in order to guarantee a full time job.

In reality, Tejada and Reynolds don’t have much of a chance. The Mets know exactly what they will get from Tejada as he enters his fifth season with the club. He wont hit for average, he wont hit for power, and his defense is average at best. He has little to no upside at all. Reynolds has upside, but he may need another year in the minors working on his fielding. Last season he committed 8 errors in 58 games at shortstop in Triple A.

At the present time, Collins and the Mets know that they are better if Flores can reach his full potential. The knock on him has been his fielding, but if he can simply make the plays he is supposed to then no one will care as long as he can drive in runs. His bat was so good in the minors, that there was a time where he was getting comparisons to Miguel Cabrera. A player with that kind of potential should get a full season under his belt before the club moves on. Flores will get his shot this year, but Collins wont hesitate to remind him that his time is limited if he doesn’t perform.

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