New York Mets: 3 things to watch for this Spring Training
By Kyle Morello
What are the Mets getting with J.D. Davis?
One of the under the radar depth moves that Mets General Manager Brodie Van Wagenen made this offseason was to trade for J.D. Davis from the Astros.
A former 3rd round pick by Houston, Davis played very well in the minors this past year. in 85 games in AAA he hit 17 dingers and drove in 81 runs, while hitting for a slash line of .342/.406/.583.
Despite having obvious success at the highest minor league level, the Astros had no room for him on their roster.
In his short sample size in the majors thus far Davis has struggled, however. So why exactly did Van Wagenen want to trade for him?
First off, Davis is still just 25 years old. In the right situation (meaning the ability to actually see the field), he could thrive.
Is he going to get an abundance of playing time with the Mets? Most likely not, at least not right away.
As previously mentioned, the Mets made a lot of moves to bring in a lot of quality players this offseason.
The one thing Davis has that nobody else on their roster has is the ability to play both the infield and the outfield, and that’s what makes him so valuable.
The Mets outfield has always been marred by injury, and Davis will likely see more time there than anywhere in the infield.
If Davis plays well in his bench role, the Mets will not only have a quality replacement if somebody goes down but they won’t have to rush that player back to health.
It also gives Mickey Callaway more options when putting together his lineup everyday, something a Mets manager hasn’t had the luxury of doing since Terry Collins and the 2015 Mets.
And we all know what happened that season.
Next. Who is going to play first base for the Yankees in 2019?. dark
I’m not saying the Mets will get that far this year, but there will definitely be a lot to look forward to this week when the players report to Port St. Lucie.