The Diamondbacks announced that they won’t be exercising their club options on either infielder Wilmer Flores or left-hander T.J. McFarland. Flores’ $6MM option will be bought out for $500K, while McFarland will receive a $50K buyout rather than a $1.85MM salary for the 2020 season. In addition to these moves, the D’Backs also announced that outfielder Abraham Almonte and lefty Robby Scott have been outrighted to Triple-A.
Though a right foot contusion cost him almost two months of the season, Flores’ first year in Arizona was a successful one when he was able to take the field. The 28-year-old hit .317/.361/.387 over 285 PA, and while a particular power surge against left-handed pitching led to some significant splits (.337/.367/.615 against lefties, .304/.358/.404 against righties), Flores was still plenty dangerous against all types of pitching.
Flores was primarily used at second base last year, handling the keystone whenever Ketel Marte wasn’t in center field. Given that the D’Backs will again look to move Marte around the diamond next year, retaining Flores for the extra $5.5MM wouldn’t have seemed like an exorbitant choice. Then again, the team might not have expected Flores to duplicate his 2019 performance, given that Flores’ .362 wOBA far outpaced his .329 xwOBA, and he also had some notable batted-ball luck in the form of a .332 BABIP.
It isn’t out of the question that the Diamondbacks could look to re-sign Flores at a lesser price, though one would imagine he’ll get interest from multiple teams looking for a versatile infielder (Flores also saw a lot of action at third base during his time with the Mets) who can crush southpaws.
After posting a 2.00 ERA over 72 frames for Arizona in 2018, McFarland’s bottom-line numbers (4.82 ERA) came back down to earth last year, even though a lot of his peripheral statistics weren’t too dissimilar. The grounder specialist ran into trouble when he did let the ball get into the air last year, as McFarland’s 17.1% home run rate was a career high.
Wouldn’t mind seeing the Angels signing Flores as their extra infielder to backup Fletcher at 2nd and the annually hurt Simmons at SS. Not a critical move with Rengifo and LaStella present but a nice insurance policy, Given, he’s at the right price on or around $4M per.
Don’t forget Cozart. Thaiss too since he now plays third. Don’t know if Flores is necessary. We all know the rotation is the most important thing to fix this offseason, then catching, but I think bullpen is next.
Absolutely agree. But depth is something the Angels have lacked the past few years and it’s shown with all the injuries they’ve had to endure.
Not my 1-3 priorities, but after that, sure.
Makes sense. But I’d like to see Thaiss get his reps before a Flores type signing
Klentak, here’s the bench bat/stopgap 3B/2B you need. this guy is an underrated hitter and a versitile defender. absolutely a need.
Yeah the bench is something they need to improve. Move on from Sean Rodriguez. He’s a bum.
His career numbers don’t match his last years production.
Was last year a fluke or was it an improvement?
Wilmer Flores can help any team. I believe he can have a better year next season. He has the potential and he can play multiple positions. It is too early to say but he is one of the candidates for comeback player of the year.
Never understood why, when a player gets released, waived, non-tendered or whatever, fans of another team think he’s valuable. Flores has a career WAR of 1.9, can’t play shortstop, has a career OBP of 310 and has virtually no speed. Yet people here are saying, “Sign him!”
Makes no sense.
Take a look at Asdrubral Cabrera and Gerardo Parra. Many people thought that they were not going to play an important part in winning a championship. The moves were under the radar because people thought that other trades were more important. Many individuals thought that the Astros were going to win the World Series in 4, 5, 6 games but what happened? Also, the acquisition of Gio Urshela was dumb right? He went to the Yankees and he performed extraordinarily well. James Mccann with Detroit was not that great and in his first year with the Whitesox how did he perform? Let me just go a little bit back, Jose Bautista was not always a slugger. He found himself with the Blue Jays just like Edwin encarnacion did. The list continues, but I had to mention a few names. Facts back me up. You’re welcome.
I think it makes sense now there are some players that can perform better when they wear a different uniform.
What he said.
Nobody thinks he’s a star, but you could do a lot worse for a bench infielder. He crushes LHP, and can play corner infield as well as second base to a useable level. I’d take that on a cheap deal to add to my bench.
And there are just as many, if not more, who fail with their new teams. Gio was a heck of a pick-up, but if Andujar doesn’t get hurt, we never hear of Gio. Take a look at many of the non-tenders from around the league, a lot were waiver pickups who didn’t do well.
BTW, you can take your “You’re welcome” and stuff it.
Sorry, but I don’t have time. I’ll leave it up to you.
You had time to reply.
Good one, lol.
Wilmer performed well for the Dbacks, but not $6MM well. He’s a liability on defense and had an outlier year on offense during the 2019 year of the juiced baseball. Dbacks have a deep core of utility players, so Wilmer became expendable. I see nothing wrong with fans wanting their team to pick him up IF he’s cheap and IF it’s for a bench/utility piece.
Don’t get me wrong, I do think Flores can serve a role on a good team. He just isn’t a good fit on the Dbacks. His base running and defense is poor, and that’s always been a strength on the Dbacks. Leyba, Vargas, and Rojas are controllable, cheap, and showed some promise. Also, Flores was never meant to be THE second baseman with the Dbacks. I think he was their “just-in-case” at first base, and Christian Walker definitely earned the role and Cron is a decent replacement at first for Walker in case there is an injury.
Opening 5.5mil may seem small to some, but this Dbacks team was 20mil under their 2018 salaries, they opened up more with the Greinke trade, and now with Flores, and possibly Lamb and Souza on their ways out, this team has money to spend. I know Hazen has mentioned getting bats (which they need), but I think this would be a good summer to lock up another pitcher like Wheeler, Odorizzi, or Ryu, and also extend Ray. Ray, Gallen, Weaver, Walker, and a FA pitcher, plus their young arms like Duplaintier, Clark, and Young, gives this team an opportunity to continue to build on their biggest strength for years to come. If anything, An extra corner outfielder would be nice. I don’t think my dream scenario will be happening considering the Indians won 93 games and there is still two years left on a deal, but I think Fransisco Lindor would be a great target for them. He would definetly improve the offensive output at SS. A deal packaged around Ahmed, Duplantier, Baukaskus, and #1 prospect Kristan Robinson is a good start. I would not be surprised to see the Dbacks contact the Red Sox about Betts and Bradley Jr, but if they trade for one of them and hope to resign, then my idea of extending Ray and bringing on another starting pitcher would be unfeasible. As with Lindor, having him for two seasons in a lineup with Marte and solid starting pitching, it could be worth it to trade some pieces and let him walk after two years, especially if they can continue to lock up their young rotation for a long time.