Flores providing depth behind Tejada at shortstop

MILWAUKEE -- After being called up to fill in for Ruben Tejada on Thursday, Wilmer Flores found himself back on the Mets' bench for Friday's matchup with the Brewers.

Flores has been in this situation before. After Flores had a stint as the club's starting shortstop, Tejada reclaimed the role and pushed Flores to a part-time gig. With his production dropping from the bench, the team sent him back to Triple-A Las Vegas to get regular playing time. He thrived there, batting .323 with 13 home runs and 57 RBIs in 55 games there.

"I was doing basically what I've been doing my whole career -- just hit the ball," Flores said. "Playing every day and being out there every day, it's so much easier."

While Mets manager Terry Collins said he'd like to try to get Flores in more regularly, there are only so many at-bats to go around, and things are more difficult with Daniel Murphy and David Wright entrenched at second and third base, respectively. To get at-bats, Flores might have to outshine Tejada, who has struggled at the plate recently but has been a valuable defensive asset.

"I'll go back to the last homestand: This guy got as big of hits as anybody for us and is playing very, very well defensively," Collins said of Tejada. "Had he not got hit in the head, I'm not sure we'd be talking about this today. We'll see what it's like in the next couple days."

Though Flores would prefer to be in a full-time role, he seemed determined to make the most of whatever opportunities he does get.

"I'll just have to find a way," Flores said. "If I'm playing every day, good. If I'm not, I'm just going to get used to it and try to find a way to be ready for any situation."