Now that the lockout has been lifted and we finally have baseball, it’s time for the New York Mets to finalize their roster. And that means not only additions, but also determine who will be a part of the 2022 roster and who will be traded.
When it comes to additions, the Mets were among the busiest teams in baseball before the lockout: they brought Max Scherzer, Starling Marte, Eduardo Escobar and Mark Canha. This has caused a logjam in the lineup, and many players are now without much of a shot for regular playing time.
Talented players such as Jeff McNeil, Dominic Smith or J.D. Davis, therefore, could be moved if there are any takers and if the Mets consider the offer (s) good enough.
According to MLB Trade Rumors, Davis was the one who generated the most interest in the trade market before the lockout. With the Mets’ offensive depth chart still filled with top-end talent (and the return of Robinson Cano, if he ends up staying, further complicates things), he remains a candidate to be included in a package.
Several teams are interested in the Mets’ slugger
Mike Puma of the New York Post reported that the Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, Minnesota Twins and Oakland Athletics all had interest in Davis’ services before the transactions freeze took over in late 2021.
Davis is seen as a very good offensive player: during his time with the Mets, he has accumulated 893 plate appearances in 269 games and has slashed .288/.373/.472, with a wRC+ of 130: that’s actually very, very good.
The problem with Davis is that he is a lousy fielder and has no defensive home. He is bad as a third baseman and as an outfielder: if he was at least decent, perhaps the Mets wouldn’t be considering parting with him.
He remains a valuable piece, though, so several teams will be happy to trade for him.