The New York Mets almost traded Wilmer Flores last season and made him cry. Not sure about tears this time, but with their shortstop overload it won’t be surprising to see the interest from the Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres turn into a trade as well.

Flores was close to being traded to the Milwaukee Brewers in 2015. Thinking he was leaving, he was filmed shedding tears, although eventually the deal collapsed. With the Mets signing Asdrubal Cabrera this offseason, both Flores and Ruben Tejada seem to be backup options at shortstop, although Flores, 24, played some second base last season as well, doing quite well in that position too from a defensive standpoint.

Flores has been with the Mets since 2007, making his major league debut in 2013. He played 137 games last season and hit 16 home runs, batting a career high .263 with a .703 OPS. The Mets have a pretty impressive talent in Flores, who also has power that doesn’t always come with the shortstop package. There’s been interest in him all along, and maybe this time, the Mets might actually go ahead with the deal.

The Padres need more depth and quality at the position, having Alexi Amarista, who hit just .204 last season with three home runs and 30 RBIs. Tyler Saladino is the top shortstop for the White Sox at the moment, which means they are also with this position in need of feeling. Both teams aren’t drowning in talent that can be moved, with the White Sox already shedding some of those guys in a previous trade with the Cincinnati Reds and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Flores probably is good enough to start and play as more than a backup on quite a few teams in major league baseball, while the Mets focus on their pitching talent and maybe a little bit neglecting some other, less heralded pieces that got them to the World Series. In the postseason, Flores struggled with just a .195 batting average, although it was mostly in the World Series where things fell apart for him after a good NLDS and NLCS.

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