Long before the two errors Wilmer Flores made last night, he had already established he is not a Major League third baseman.  What is most troublesome is there is not just one thing you can pinpoint as the main reason why he struggles there.  It is also why he’s probably not redeemable there.

First and foremost, people will point to his throwing.  In his career, Flores has played 1,007.2 innings at third base.  In those innings, he has made a total of 16 errors; 12 of which were throwing errors.  This doesn’t even account for the numerous times he’s thrown offline preventing the team from turning a double play, or his inability to throw out speedy base runners on bunt plays and slow rollers.

However, it’s more than that.  Looking at the advanced metrics, Flores’ play at third base is just unacceptable.  He has a -17 DRS and a -3.5 UZR at the position.  He converts just 93.6% of routine plays at the position.

No matter the statistic you choose, Flores just cannot handle the position.  That’s not his fault.  Different players are ill-suited to different positions.  That was made clear when Jose Reyes, a player who seemingly had the range and arm strength to excel at third base, struggled there this season.

So no, Flores isn’t to blame.  The people to blame are the Mets for continuously trotting him out there this year.

On the surface, it is fine to play Flores everyday to let him prove he is capable of being an everyday player at the Major League level.  However, if you are really interested in seeing him succeed, you need to give him a fair shot at a position he can actually play.

Flores’ best defensive position is first base, but he is blocked there by Dominic Smith‘s presence.  His next best position is second base.  As Flores has shown in his career, he can actually handle that position.

In 667.0 innings at second, Flores has a -7 DRS and a 0.3 UZR.  In his time there, he has only committed four errors (two fielding, two throwing).  He has converted 99% of routine plays at the position.

Despite second being Flores best opportunity to be an everyday player, the Mets refuse to play him there.  If the team was giving a shot to Gavin Cecchini, it would be understandable.  However, Cecchini’s been stapled to the bench.  Rather, the Mets continue to trot Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera out to second base.

Therefore, rather than letting Flores show himself to be what he’s worth, the Mets would rather play two players who played large roles in torpedoing this season at second.  The Mets would rather Flores fail to see two players who should not be considered major contributors in 2018 get playing time.  It makes no sense.

Yes, we know Flores will never be a Gold Glover.  The hope always has been and continues to be he will hit enough to justify playing him everyday.  However, that scenario only works if Flores is playing a position he can actually play.  We already know he can’t play third.  It’s time to stop playing him there and move him to second base.