Fantasy Fallout: Wright's Injury Will Give Flores Time to Shine
Here are the fantasy repercussions following the New York Mets' decision to place starting 3B and captain David Wright on the 15-day DL with a herniated disk in his neck:
David Wright's injury will require 6-8 weeks of rest from baseball activities during which he will undergo appropriate physiotherapy. #Mets
— New York Mets (@Mets) June 3, 2016
Season-Long Fantasy
With Wright out, it is expected that backup infielder Wilmer Flores will handle the hot corner for the time being.
Flores, 24, was the starting shortstop for the Mets a season ago. He showed good power for a middle infielder with 16 home runs and 22 doubles, but he had an OBP of just .295. As expected with a young player, Flores struggled in a part-time role this season. The Mets shored up their middle infield in the offseason with the additions of veterans Asdrubal Cabrera and Neil Walker.
Flores has eligibility at 3B, 2B and SS in most leagues. He hasn't shown enough at the plate to be worthy of picking up in standard 10- or 12-team leagues, but can provide a temporary fix for fantasy owners in 14-team leagues or NL-only formats needing help across the infield.
As for Wright, he was hitting just .226 before the injury. He was showing exceptional patience at the dish with 26 walks, giving him a .350 OBP. He also had seven home runs, but his 55 strikeouts were quite alarming. After being one of the best gap-to-gap hitters in his heyday, it is clear that Wright was swinging for the fences more often than not.
Wright's fantasy owners really can't be too surprised with the injury. Heading into 2016, Wright missed 54 games per season on average since 2011.
Waiver Wire Targets
- 2B/3B/SS Darwin Barney, Blue Jays: For those who owned Wright in deep leagues, ride the hot bat of Barney for the next week or so. Filling in everyday for the injured Troy Tulowitzki at SS, Barney is hitting .344 on the season with no signs of slowing down. He has nine hits in his last 17 at-bats and is owned in just one percent of leagues.
- 2B/3B/SS/OF Jose Ramirez, Indians: Ramirez is a prime target to replace Wright in standard 10 or 12 team leagues. Owned in 52 percent of leagues, he's batting .320/.393/.464 with four steals. The 23-year-old has an everyday job locked up, splitting time between 3B and LF.
- 1B/2B/3B Yangervis Solarte, Padres: There's a chance Solarte could be available in NL-only leagues, as he is owned in just 11 percent of total leagues. He is hitting .339/.426/.593 this season, albeit in just 68 PAs. He usually hits near the top of San Diego's awful lineup.