The acting general manager of the New York Mets, Zack Scott, spoke to reporters on Friday a few days before the team reported to Spring Training. He gave mixed signs about the organization’s confidence in JD Davis on its way to its third season with the organization.
“We’re comfortable entering the season with JD Davis playing a key role,” Scott said.
Like MMO’s Jack Ramsey commented on Twitter, phrasing is everything. Scott did not say the Mets were completely comfortable with Davis as the club’s first starting scorer. All he said was that they were confident he could play an important role in the team.
What role is he referring to? Maybe it’s coming off the bench against left – handed pitchers. The only reason he would not start at the hot corner was if a trade were to take place. The Mets reportedly held recent trade talks with the Chicago Cubs over Kris Bryant, the Cincinnati Reds over Eugenio Suarez, en the Oakland Athletics over Matt Chapman.
There is no doubt that Davis can strike. In 2019, his first season with the Mets, he smashed .307 / .369 / .527 with 22 home runs, which was the fourth place in the group behind Pete Alonso (53), Michael Conforto (33), and Jeff McNeil (23). It was his first major playing time in the major leagues (140 games played and 453 games), which led to impressive careers in wRC + (136) and fWAR (2.3).
The problem for New York and for any potential trader is his defense – Davis has scored a total of 17 defensive runs stored on the third base over the past two seasons. This is likely to be a problem if there is no improvement, as Alonso, Dominic Smith (in the outfield), and Brandon Nimmo nor defenders who are highly regarded.
