Crossfire: Should The Mets Reunite With J.D. Davis?

Another right-handed bat has become available before Opening Day.

The Giants placed former Met J.D. Davis on waivers on Friday to make room for Matt Chapman on their roster. Chapman recently signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the team. The New York Mets traded Davis, along with three prospects, to the Giants in 2022 for designated hitter Darin Ruf.

The Mets, much in need of power, discussed adding the likes of J.D. Martinez earlier in free agency, but his price was too expensive. If the Mets are still looking to add a right-handed bat to the roster, would J.D. Davis make sense?

Bring Back J.D.

Bringing back Davis wouldn’t be so bad, right? Expectations would certainly be different the second time around. He wouldn’t be thrust into a starting role, and he’d be looked at as a bench player with an occasional start at third or designated hitter. Even with Davis on the roster, Mark Vientos can still get the lion’s share of designated hitter at-bats, and you can really see what you have with him. You’ll also have a more viable backup at third than Vientos.

But, if they sign Davis, who would take the fall on the current roster? Joey Wendle‘s signing never really made a ton of sense, especially when you can claim guys like Zack Short and sign Rylan Bannon to minor-league deals as Luis Guillorme‘s replacement. And we know what J.D. Davis is: a .750 OPS guy with decent pop. That feels like a better bench option than Wendle or Short.

Jeff McNeil and Brett Baty are the starting second and third basemen. Mark Vientos will start at designated hitter. With Omar Narváez as the backup catcher, the bench could round out with Harrison Bader, Tyrone Taylor, Short, and Davis.

– Patrick Glynn, MMO editor and writer

Stay Away

After making the move to the Giants, Davis performed extremely well for the remainder of the season. To end the 2022 season, he posted an .857 OPS and tallied eight home runs in only 137 at-bats. However, although not terrible numbers in 2023, he took a step back in a much larger sample size last year with San Francisco.

Davis slashed .233/.339/.404, good for a .742 OPS, in 2023. His OPS+ of 104 was slightly above the average of 100 and his bWAR of 0.2 was just slightly better than that of a replacement-level player. Not to mention, a lot of the issues that led to the Mets “giving up on him” and shipping him to San Francisco reared its ugly head in 2023. Specifically, Davis owned a strikeout rate in the league’s 19th percentile and a whiff rate in the league’s ninth percentile. Overall, his batting run value was one of the worst of his career, ranking in the 30th percentile.

Another aspect worth pointing out is Davis really didn’t show anything notable when it came to splits in 2023. He owned batting averages with just a two-point difference and his OPS against left-handed pitchers was actually lower (.728) than it was against right-handed throwers (.742). Something that has been a story for much of his career. Another one of the main reasons the Mets would want to call upon his services is his aforementioned “power.” However, in 2023, his xSLG was only in the 42nd percentile.

Lastly, Davis just does not fit the calling card of a David Stearns team. Throughout his career, he has always been a below-replacement level defender. For whatever reason, outs above average (OAA) metrics actually was a fan of Davis’ game in 2023 (90th percentile at third base). However, as far as the defensive runs saved metric (DRS), he posted a negative-11 rating. This much more on par with his career numbers. Unless Davis serves specifically as a designated hitter, even off the bench, his profile just does not fit what new president of baseball operations David Stearns usually prefers.

If the Mets did think about bringing Davis in, it would be in the hope they’d get the player they had in 2019 and 2021, as well as what the Giants got in the second half of 2022. Someone who hits the ball very hard, but will still struggle with whiffing and strikeouts and is a very poor defender. With that being said, everything the Mets have done this offseason indicates they’d rather give the designated hitting opportunities to their younger players, or the much-cheaper depth options they brought in via free agency.

After winning his salary arbitration case against the Giants in early February, Davis will be owed $6.9 million in 2024. This price is not minuscule and would be much more than any currently projected Mets bench bat option makes. One would think, albeit would be slightly more expensive, why didn’t the Mets just pursue an option like J.D. Martinez if they wanted to go this route?

– James Villani, MMO editor and writer