Although Mets Spring Training is underway and Ike Davis trade rumors have largely died down as of late, a pair of clubs is still interested in the 26-year-old. ESPN's Jayson Stark wrote yesterday that the Pirates continue to monitor Davis' status in camp, and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports that the Orioles are still interested in acquiring Davis to serve primarily in a DH capacity.
Pirates GM Neal Huntington told Stark yesterday that the team is confident in its internal candidates to serve as a platoon partner for Gaby Sanchez — namely Andrew Lambo, Chris McGuiness and Travis Ishikawa. However, Huntington added:
"That doesn't stop us from looking elsewhere. It’s just that now, our bar has been set a little bit higher, as to 'How do we make the club better?' And 'How do we make the club better at the right situation for us?'"
As for the Orioles, acquiring Davis would allow them to add some more power while preserving the No. 55 pick in the draft — a selection that would be forfeited should the team go the free-agent route by signing either Kendrys Morales or Nelson Cruz. Davis would also be significantly cheaper in terms of salary, as he's slated to earn just $3.5MM this season. However, Mets GM Sandy Alderson has made it clear that he will not simply give Davis away. Previous reports indicated that Alderson has asked the Orioles to part with top pitching rospect Eduardo Rodriguez in a Davis trade.
Sherman also reports that at one point this offseason, the Mets and Rays were discussing players that could be added to a Davis-for-Matt Joyce swap before Tampa finally proposed a straight one-for-one trade. The Mets rejected that deal, and Tampa closed the door on talks by signing James Loney to a three-year, $21MM contract.
Davis batted .205/.326/.334 overall last season but fared very well upon his recall from the minor leagues after being sent down in early June. The former first-round pick posted an .872 OPS over his final two months, including a .290/.468/.522 triple-slash in August. An oblique strain cut his strong finish to the season short, sidelining him for the entire month of September.
Hey Mets. No one wants Ike Davis. Heck, you guys don’t even want Ike Davis.
If no one wanted Ike Davis, he wouldn’t have been connected to five or more teams in trade talks this winter, and the Mets would’ve just sold low on him already or non-tendered him in December.
Teams may want Ike Davis but not at the Mets asking price.
That much is very true.
I think no one wants Ike Davis as much as the Mets want them to want Ike Davis.
It makes no sense for the Orioles to trade for Ike Davis…he is no upgrade to what their current prospects are. His overall batting average and OBP are average to poor for the position…and the Mets want Eduardo Rodriguez!? NO WAY!
I expect the Orioles will be offering britton to somebody here soon after signing yoon and jimenez. There isnt any way the orioles trade rodriguez
You never know . I sure hope not !! Why would we want Davis anyway ?
Ike Davis doesn’t do much for me. It’s an awfully high price tag to take a risk on a guy who put up those numbers last year. I’d rather just give Lambo a shot and see if he can figure out how to hit major league pitching rather than give up a quality player to hope that Ike Davis can figure out how to hit major league pitching.
He’s a nice cheap bench bat. He should not start in the MLB though
Very glad the Mets passed on a straight trade for Matt Joyce. Joyce might have slightly better hitting numbers, but Ike’s upside is much higher, imo. Joyce is consistent and would be less of a gamble. Davis is either way up or way down, and with Harvey out for 2014, taking a risk wouldn’t hurt them too much.
Rather have Joyce than Davis any day, when Joyce can put the ball on the bat he goes on a tear
Um, you mean like Ike Davis can? Way too many people focus solely on his horrendous starts to 2012 and 2013 (albeit, they were terrible) and ignore the fact that when he’s on, he’s on.
In 2012’s second half, he OPSed .888 and lead the league in HR.
In 2013’s 2nd half, he OPSed .954.
Davis has played 442 games and has played bad (terribly) for about a hundred of them (first 40 games of 2012 and first 65 of 2013). Other than that, he’s hit, and hit well.
Joyce’s stats have been steadily dropping since 2010 and is three years older than Davis. It was a good move for the Mets not to trade them straight up.
If traded . I hope it’s to someone else .
If the Orioles want a DH, they want Lucas Duda. For literally every reason, Duda is more suited to DH. First, his swing is easier to reproduce. Second, he is much more consistent. Third, he can’t play defense. Fourth, he is better at handling pressure. Fifth, he hits better when he doesn’t have to worry about defense. Sixth, he has plenty of power.
Not sure which Lucas Duda you’ve been watching when it comes to the whole “better at handling pressure” thing.
Zach Britton for Ike Davis… who says no?
I prefer Britton but I don’t think that’s unreasonable from the O’s side. Not sure how the Mets feel on Britton.
The other question is trade Britton v. sign a free agent and give up the draft pick. I’d probably keep Britton and dump the draft pick. But it’s not my money to throw around.
However, they are going to (A) put Britton in the pen, (B) put Britton in the rotation and put Norris in the pen, or (C) lose Britton on waivers at the end of spring training. So option D is to trade him for something useful.
I say NO ! All you people are giving up on Britton to soon .
A .205 average last year and .227 the year before…
No thanks.
Check the numbers vs. RHP, though. He’s a platoon guy.
Platoon first basemen aren’t worth top prospects.
The guy may just need a change of venue but the truth is his slugging average has dropped more than 200 points since his breakout in 2011 and even then he had only had 149 plate appearances. On top of that he’s owed $3.5M. If anything the Mets should be looking for ways to give him away.
I’d guess that the Mets were offered valuable prospects from teams. He trashed the other GMs with his “yard sale” comments. What he wants is a very high return. I don’t think that situation is accurately reflected by writing that he said he wouldn’t “give away” Davis’ contract.
Meh, if I’m the O’s, I sign Morales or Cruz instead. If I’m the Pirates, I hope one of those two signs with Seattle and I get Smoak.
I’m not sure anyone is “hoping” to get Justin Smoak. Pirates would be better off with almost anyone else.
Smoak vs RHP last year: .839 OPS
Gaby vs LHP last year: .987 OPS
Would make a solid platoon.
I guarantee you a lot of Pirate fans are hoping to get Smoak, if the price is right.
I am just not feeling it here.
I would much rather keep Rodriguez or Britton.
We have Chris Davis for two more years! (2014 and 2015)
I wouldn’t know how the two could co-exisit on the O’s anyway.
Sign Cruz to a contract with a clause about what happens if he fails another test.
Come on O’s lets get on with it!
I agree. Though I would much rather have Morales, second round pick does not mean much at this point. Use Britton in the pen if he does not win the 5th rotation spot. Sign Bello. Sign Johan Santana.
Can you put a clause like that in a MLB contract? I don’t know the answer but I wonder if it’s allowed.
Yes, actually after I typed that, I was wondering that myself.
It doesn’t seem unreasonable, but is it allowed
It’s a fair question too!
The bottom line is with all things equal, I would rather have Cruz.
I can assure you all that every team wants Ike Davis. You don’t just stumble upon .205/.326/.334 every day, especially at his position. He will be a commodity for years to come.
Refusing a straight up deal for Matt Joyce was interesting. Alderson is looking to shoot the moon, maybe he will get it, but Joyce would have been useful for the Mets and Davis is obviously someone they value only as a chip.
Matt Joyce does absolutely nothing for the Mets. They already have a 4th OF who is better and will be struggling to find enough playing time. That puts Joyce in as a 5th OF and that seems like overkill on a bad team. It seems to make much more sense to leave that spot open for a young guy to see if he can pan out in the big leagues (Brown).
I don’t think Alderson is going to get the deal he wants for Ike, or he would have traded him already. We know the team we are going to have this year, as bad as it is. Harvey’s injury doomed us to another year of blah, so the FO isn’t going to spend a lot of money on THIS season.
They had a price in mind for Davis and they haven’t gotten it. They prefer to roll the dice and hope he rebounds. Personally I thought their price was too high, but I don’t fault their logic, only their demands.
id way rather have the orioles spend more money and give up the pick for morales then spend less and give up eduardo rodriguez, a guy that projects to be a middle of the rotation starter, for ike davis.
The O’s would be better off losing a draft pick and signing Morales than trading their top pitching prospect for Davis.
Which is why they would never do it. I’d give them Britton for Ike, though.
If I’m the Pirates, I am only giving them a middling prospect for Davis. His OPS vs RHPs is okay, but, I hear from Mets fans that he is a head case at times.
keep him he will bounce back. I like ike. but get a short stop
Any team that wants a first baseman/DH should look at Lennerton of the Tigers. He is not a AAAA player and he never got a chance at the big leagues because of Cabrera, Fielder and Martinez. He hits for power and average, can play defense and is cheap. He will only cost a reliever or something like that.
Lennerton for Tony Watson?
Or Lennerton for Wilson.
Or Lennerton for Yao-Hsun Yang
Mets should keep Ike. He could put it together just like Chris Davis did.
The Mets should just build Davis’s market during the 1st half of the season and come back into discussions with Pittsburgh & Baltimore around deadline time should Davis play out of his mind & actually stay consistent. The last couple seasons of Davis’s poor play are attributed to Davis being his own enemy and the Mets not doing what was best for the team & for Davis’s own development by sending him to AAA much, much sooner. Its not a secret how Mets brass were turning a blind eye to his troubles, assuming he would just turn it around and how his teammates wanted him to stay up. The upside is still there. Time for Davis to finally show it.
Ike Davis is simply one of those players who needs a change of scenery. Certainly he is better off in the American League. While the Mets weren’t able to trade him over the winter and get back what they wanted, they will eventually move him and get some decent return. Davis appears to be on the same path as Adam Dunn and in the right park he could well be a monster.