To preface, if Alex Bregman was not around, Davis would still likely be on the Houston Astros. Bregman, who finished fifth in the AL MVP vote in 2018 rapidly ascended through the highly competitive minor league system of the Astros and is now one of the brightest young stars of the game. Meanwhile, Davis, who just needed more time to become polished for professional baseball, got left in the dust of Bregman. He did crack the major league roster but struggled in limited time with the Astros. During his time in the Lone Star State, Davis hit .194 in his 181 plate appearances, with only five home runs. In those 181 appearances, Davis had 49 strikeouts.
The stark differences in how much Davis has improved has helped him to become endeared with the Mets fans so quickly. In Houston, Davis struck out in over 27% of his at bats. With the Mets, he has cut that number to 20%, while improving his power numbers. While he has mostly played the outfield for the Mets this season, don’t expect him to be there next season. Pair Davis’s rapid offensive improvements with the fact that Frazier is an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and you soon realize that Davis should slide right into the void left by Frazier.
With Davis adding to the young infield core that has riveted the fan base with excitement this season, the Mets have seen their once famous young pitching core be pushed to the back burner. Make no mistake, no team wants to face Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, and then Zack Wheeler in a short series. The focus has now found itself in the bats of the infielders rather than the pitchers. With Jeff McNeil, Pete Alonso, a now surging Amed Rosario, and Davis, the Mets have finally found themselves in a position where they have a wealth of young talent that stacks up with the pitching staff that held the team together for several seasons. The fact of the matter is that the Mets are playing well right now thanks to the young core that they currently have employed, and that Mets fans should not only be excited for how the rest of the season will unfold, but also the coming seasons as well.
Next year’s team is going to be quite a curious sort.
If Davis is at 3B, Rosario at SS, Alonso at 1B, Cespedes LF, Nimmo CF, Conforto RF, Ramos C, who is going to play 2B ??
The consensus would be to say McNeil, who at his natural position would only flourish, but what to do about a $20M vet – Cano ? Man, what a bum trade BVW made here on a position of no need yet. A $20M pinch hitter and bench guy ? Doubt it. There must be some miraculous trade to get out from under that contract, but surely Mets are going to have to eat a ton of it.With the youthful core infield to include Davis at 3B, McNeil at 2B, the Wilpons will be saving tons of $$$, enough to absorb eating some on disposing of Cano. Cespedes is not going anywhere as he has to re-prove himself after all his injuries, so the Mets need to play him if he is capable and healthy. If not, certainly McNeil could go out to LF, and Cano then can fill 2B.
Didn’t even mention Lowrie ! Who will be a $10M bench and PH himself in this scenario. Guess a Baseball GM is the only job in the world that you can make $30M in mistakes (Cano and Lowrie) and not get fired. Nice life.
Dalton, you scraped the outer edges of a topic that has more questions than answers. To plug in Davis at 3B is easy, how is the problem. You still have Lowrie and McNeil, while having Cano at 2nd. Too, Cano is better off if moved to third base where mobility isn’t as important. So, that leaves the outfield. Cespedes may come back, Nimmo and Conforto are still here and this team could use a real center fielder.
I have heard this be called “a good problem to have”. So, I will defer to age old wisdom and wait it out to clear itself up.
Man, I saw enough of Davis at third base this year to conclude that he is not a third baseman. He is not quick and can’t throw consistently. He looked tentative on every play. Do you really see him playing there regularly?
I agree, Studes, Davis is better off in LF. 3B is a more important fielding position, and Davis seemed to double clutch a lot n his throws, I’d rather see McNeil at 3rd and Davis in LF next year.
They could make some trades. Hoping they accurately measure who/what they have versus “what they need”.