Flores will miss rest of Giants season after latest knee procedure originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
SAN FRANCISCO – When the Giants added Wilmer Flores back to IL Last month, they were hopeful that an injection of platelet-rich plasma could finally help him overcome the problem. It didn’t work, and after Flores underwent a Tenex procedure on his ailing right knee on Tuesday, they admitted what was starting to become obvious.
Flores will not play again this season, coach Bob Melvin told reporters in Washington D.C. on Tuesday. After having best offensive year of his career last season, he will end this one with just 71 appearances.
Flores hit .206 and his OPS dropped below .600 for the first time since his rookie year. He hit just four homers after hitting a career-high 23 last season, when he was the most consistent hitter on a team that struggled to produce in the second half.
“It obviously affected what he was doing this year,” Melvin said at Nationals Park. “This is a guy who last year led the team in home runs and was the smartest guy you could be. He’s struggled with it all year and unfortunately we’re going to lose him for the rest of the year, which isn’t ideal, but hopefully he’ll be 100 percent next year. I think he will have an option with us next year and I hope he is back.
“He’s someone I’ve really looked up to on the other side in the past and he’s got a lot of leadership qualities here. Still, even though he’s not here, he’s checking in and telling me to keep going, all the things you’d expect from a leader. He’s a stud.”
Flores turned 33 on Tuesday and there’s a chance his time in San Francisco is over. His initial contract with the Giants was such a success that they extended it at the end of the 2022 MLB season, giving him a two-year contract that he more than fulfilled with just his production from last season. The contract included a complicated option this will make for an interesting off-season discussion.
If Flores exercises his option for 2025, he will receive a base salary of $3.5 million. If he declines, the Giants will have a club option worth $8.5 million.
At the time they agreed to the deal, it seemed possible that the Giants would want Flores back at that last number in 2025. It’s now certain they would pass, but Flores may find that guaranteeing the $3.5 million salary is the its best change this winter.
The Giants could treat this as an acquisition if they prefer to use the roster spot for someone else, but it seems likely they would at least bring Flores to big league camp next year and see if he can regain some of his former form. Even with this year’s numbers, Flores has a .761 OPS in five seasons in San Francisco with 76 homers.
