Mets and Wilmer Flores file arbitration numbers

The Mets and infielder Wilmer Flores have submitted salary figures for arbitration, which leaves Flores as the only player who did not settle with the team before the Friday afternoon deadline to file for arbitration. The Mets submitted a $1.8 million salary, while Flores submitted a $2.2 million salary. MLB Trade Rumors projected a $1.9 million salary for Flores for the upcoming season.

In a change of approach from years past, the Mets reportedly intended to take any arbitration-eligible players who hadn’t settled by Friday afternoon to an actual arbitration hearing, a stance commonly referred to as “file and trial.” In the past, the team didn’t shut down negotiations if a settlement hadn’t been reached at the filing deadline.

If the Mets follow through with the plan to take Flores to a hearing, it will be the first time they’ve done so with any player since Oliver Perez in 2008. As for Flores’s salary, the arbitrator would choose either the number he submitted or the number the Met submitted.

Flores had his best season at the plate last year, but like many of his teammates, he suffered a season-ending injury before the regular season ended. In total, he made 335 plate appearances and hit .267/.319/.469 with 16 home runs and a 112 wRC+. He was one of the very best hitters in baseball against left-handed pitching, too, though he struggled against right-handed pitchers.