ST. LOUIS — After months of hearing groans from their fans, after months of defending Wilmer Flores and trying to convince the world that he was a viable shortstop, the Mets removed him from the position quietly. Flores simply went to the park one day in late June and saw he was playing second base. There was no meeting, no formal explanation.
The decision was described almost as a desperate measure. Knowing that third baseman David Wright was out indefinitely with spinal stenosis, Manager Terry Collins decided to shuffle his infield to boost the Mets’ defense.