On his 22nd birthday, New York Mets highly touted prospect Wilmer Flores is getting the gift that he always wanted--a call up to the Major Leagues.
Flores is due to make his major league debut Tuesday as the Mets take on the Rockies at 7:10 p.m. at Citi Field. Flores will likely play third base and is looking to fill the void left by David Wright, who is expected to miss three-to-five weeks due to a Grade 2 hamstring strain the Mets captain suffered last Friday.
Flores has started the past three games at Triple-A Las Vegas at the hot corner in preparation for a possible call up. Flores' major league debut has been highly anticipated. He signed a $750,000 contract out of Venezuela at 16 years old back in 2007.
At Triple-A Las Vegas, Flores hit .321 with 15 homers and 86 RBIs in 107 games this season. The Mets haven't made a corresponding move to the Flores call up, but reports indicate that closer Bobby Parnell may be headed to the 15-day disabled list with a neck injury. Parnell last appeared in a major league game a week ago, so if the Mets decide to place him on the DL, it would be retroactive to last Tuesday.
Mets manager Terry Collins originally said that Flores was slated to play second base while Daniel Murphy would move to third and outfielder Eric Young Jr. would have shifted to second, however with Parnell most-likely landing on the DL, it extends the Mets bench to five players, allowing Collins to put Flores, a natural shortstop, at third instead.
Flores went 1-for-5 with a double and a run scored for Las Vegas in its 5-2 victory over Memphis on Monday in his third consecutive game at third.
The Mets can use all the offensive help they can after losing Wright from the middle of the lineup. New York (49-60) sits 17 games behind the surging first place Atlanta Braves and 10.5 games out of a wildcard spot.
While the present season is a loss for the Mets, Flores will look to bring the franchise hope for a brighter future--starting with his debut on his 22nd birthday.
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