How the San Francisco Giants Find the Next Derek Holland

Wilmer Flores turned 27 last season, but he’s a player his previous owners, the New York Mets had higher hopes for. He had been in the Mets organization since he was 16 years old and for one reason or another he just never lived up to expectations.

While, his career has been a disappointment to some, he still could have a lot of value in the right role for another team. He is only 27 years old, he can play all over the infield, and for the past three seasons he’s had an OPS+ over 100 and has hit double-digit home runs the past four seasons. Flores will not be that 20+ home run slugger the Giants hope to uncover, but if you can find enough players to hit 10 -15 home runs a season, you have a pretty dangerous team.

Flores isn’t an excellent defender anywhere you put him on the diamond, but, like Solarte, he knows how to get on base. His past three seasons his OBP has been over .300, and looking at the arch of his numbers you can see Flores has become a more mature hitter who understands what he can do. Flores also boasts a solid .308 average in his career at AT&T Park his lifetime average against the Los Angeles Dodgers is exactly .300. If that’s not enough, he also had a 9.8% strike out rate last season in 429 plate appearances.

The Giants had the fifth highest strike out percentage in the league last season and struggled with situational hitting. Flores’ approach and ability to make contact could help get better quality at bats and lengthen the line up. He wouldn’t be incredibly expensive, because he only earned $3.4 million last year. Although he would be getting a little bit of a raise, he wouldn’t bleed your wallet dry. Plus, when you’re looking for a good value piece to compliment what you already have, he could also be a good fit.