August 6 holds a special significance for Wilmer Flores. It’s the day he was born in 1991. It’s the day he signed with the Mets as an international free agent in 2007. It’s the day he made his major-league debut in 2013.
Now, it will also be a day where he underwent season-ending surgery.
Flores will be out for the remainder of the 2024 season, according to multiple reports, after undergoing a Tenex procedure on his right knee with Dr. Steve Yoon in Los Angeles.
The newly-turned 33-year-old was placed on the 10-day injured list on July 25 (retroactive to July 24) with right knee tendonitis, the same injury that he dealt with earlier this year. Those knee troubles contributed to what is officially now the worst season of his 12-year major-league career.
Over 71 games, Flores had a .206 batting average, .277 on-base percentage and .318 slugging percentage, all of which are the worst marks of his career in a full season. Flores averaged 20 home runs over the last three seasons — including a career-high 23 homers in 2023 — but had just four long balls this season.
Flores, who signed a two-year extension in September 2022, has a mutual option for 2025. The club option is at $8.5 million, but the player option is at $3.5 million.
In five seasons with the Giants, Flores has hit .251 with 76 home runs and a .761 OPS. In 2022, Flores won the Willie Mac Award after hitting 19 home runs, a career-high at the time, and totaling 71 RBIs, which remains a career-high.
