Cornering Wilmer

 There are some alternate histories I think about in accordance with baseball. You know, we've had some good ones recently, like 'what if Dexter Fowler's Orioles deal goes through prior to the 2016 season', 'what if Johnny Cueto approves the Diamondbacks deal and Greinke has to sign elsewhere', 'what if the Yankees sign Strasburg in 2020 and have to eat that contract' or 'what if MadBum never takes up quadding'. But there's an intriguing one I've always thought about, and it involves Wilmer Flores.

In 2015, the New York Mets have a plan on the table to trade for Carlos Gomez, who's having another great season in Milwaukee. Gomez would have been a huge piece at CF for the Mets, and could have been part of the Championship team. Plus, knowing what we know now about how Gomez did in Houston, perhaps the Mets could have been a better fit. But, of course, we'll never know, because the deal never happens, the Mets trade for Yoenis Cespedes instead and go to the World Series.

Crucially, the deal's dissolution was due to concerns the Brewers had with one of the pieces they'd be receiving, namely Zack Wheeler, who was still rehabbing from Tommy John [and as we know contemporarily, giving him 2 years to rehab ensured he could excel upon his return]. But the part that everyone remembers, especially Mets fans, concerns the other piece of the deal that would be heading to the Brewers. It was shortstop/middle infield piece Wilmer Flores, and in the midst of one of the last games before the deadline, Flores, very much aware of the trade, began to shed real tears for his departure for the team that primed him into what he was. He'd had an opportunity to start with the Mets, and was on the verge of helping a team make the playoffs--his palpable sadness was seen the league over.

And then the part everyone remembers; the deal's off, Flores stays a Met, and then immediately hits a walk-off home run for his team to thank them for keeping him around. Even though Flores has played for different teams since, that moment in mid-2015 might be his biggest claim to fame.

Though as it happens, Flores has completely reinvented himself as a member of the Giants. Instead of being a speedy little middle infield guy, Flores is now a corner bat who's been deadly off the bench. The Giants have worked it so that both LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores are prime corner infield options with killer power perks. Flores actually leads the Giants in home runs with 18, which, while it does make sense for a team that's had Pederson, Conforto, Yaz and Haniger all either injured or slumping at different points, is still a cool outcome. I mean, there's three hard-hitting ex-Mets on this team, and I don't think Flores would have been anyone's first choice as to who'd hit better this year, but Flores has 46 RBIs and a .304 average. And he's doing most of this as either a DH or bench guy, as Wade seems to still be the starting guy.

There's been a lot of twists and turns to this Giants team that I've been pleasantly surprised by, Wilmer included. We also have Patrick Bailey coming from out of nowhere to become the catching replacement for Posey the team's been looking for, Alex Cobb having a comeback year when no one expected him to, both Rogers brothers bringing out the best in each other, Thairo Estrada cementing his status as starter, and now Paul deJong going from DFA'd to a 2-homer game against the Phils. 

Even if the hardest series' of the season are ahead, with games against the Braves, Reds, Padres and Cubs on the way, the Giants are still looking very good, and this Kaplerball is definitely paying off, even in a year with a definitive ace, a definitive closer and consistent hitting. This week will be their biggest test, and it'll be interesting to see how they look afterwards.

Coming Tomorrow- Getting traded to the Rays by the Astros is a lot like trading in a Hummer for a Tesla. Try as you might, you're gonna get consequences anyway.