The Mets have called up the hot-hitting infielder a day after Ruben Tejada was hit in the head by a pitch.
The Mets have recalled Wilmer Flores from the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s and optioned Kirk Nieuwenhuis to make room for him on the roster. The move comes following a scary moment on Wednesday in which Ruben Tejada was struck in the head by a 94 mile per hour fastball, which forced him to leave the game and undergo concussion testing. While Tejada showed no immediate signs of a concussion and was allowed to fly with the team.
The injury to Tejada highlighted the Mets' lack of shorstop depth, as utility infielder Eric Campbell played shortstop for the remainder of the game.
Flores has been raking since being sent back to Triple-A, hitting .340/.374/.632 with 8 home runs over the past 26 games. The Mets would definitely like to see offensive production of that sort out of the shortstop position, with Tejada providing an anemic .235/.358/.292 slash line, with the on-base percentage partially buoyed by intentional walks to get to the pitchers spot.
Nieuwenhuis has hit .246/.328/.509 in 67 plate appearances with the Mets this year but has spent most of his time this year playing in Las Vegas. With his demotion, the Mets are no longer carrying six outfielders on their active roster.