According to Adam Rubin of ESPN, the New York Mets are open to the idea of trading first baseman Ike Davis this offseason if it will help them improve other areas of the team. Via ESPNNewYork:
The Mets will consider trading Ike Davis this offseason as a way to upgrade other areas of the team and open a spot for Lucas Duda at his natural position, a baseball source told ESPNNewYork.com.
Davis started the season in awful fashion, but he's been much better since June. His batting average now sits at .223 after being well under .200 for the early portion of the season. More importantly, though, Davis has hit 27 homeruns while playing above average defense at first base, something that should see the 25-year-old retain some decent trade value.
The Mets have a natural replacement for Davis in Lucas Duda. Duda is best suited defensively to first base, and he's much like Davis in his decent power, good plate discipline and low batting average profile. He's struggled mightily in the outfield this season for the Mets, so much so that he was briefly demoted to AAA Buffalo to work on the defensive portion of his game.
The Mets have obvious holes in the outfield and bullpen that they need to address this winter. They could also look at an upgrade behind the plate.
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