The saga of Ike Davis lives on. ESPN’s Adam Rubin has reported that the Oakland A’s acquired the former Met from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for International signing money. This will be the embattled slugger’s third team in less than a year’s time.
A’s GM Billy Beane jumped right away to pick up the first baseman after he was designated for assignment by the Bucs last week. Perhaps he sees some value in the once promising Davis against RHP, he owns a career .357 OBP, .456 SLG and.813 OPS versus righties.
Former Met Andrew Brown, who Oakland claimed last week, was designated for assignment to make room for Davis.
November 21
The Pittsburgh Pirates designated former Mets first basemen Ike Davis for assignment yesterday. Pirates GM Neal Huntington told reporters, “As we sit here right now, we’ve essentially committed to Pedro over Ike Davis”.
The organization feels the position must be cleared for resident third basemen Pedro Alvarez, who packs an outstanding power bat, but lacks the defensive prowess to stick at the hot corner. As of now, Davis is searching for his third team in less than a year’s time.
Ike’s fall from grace has been flat out cataclysmic, no? Look, I’m fully on board with Lucas Duda, but I still hoped Davis would have a good run at it once he got a fresh start. It just still baffles me to this day every time I see his name in the papers, it’s another step back for him. This from a player that flashed so much power that vanished in the blink of a collision. Seriously, that’s what it comes down to. There’s Ike Davis pre-collision and then there’s Ike Davis post-collision.
Suppose I’ll always have a soft spot for Ike because he made the time when he first came up so special to watch. He hit home runs and made diving catches over the railing at a time when the team was entering it’s darkest hours. Now, he’s struggling to stay in the major leagues.
I’m sure someone will pick him up, maybe give him a platoon/DH role somewhere in the American League. He still managed to compile a .343 OBP during his time in Pittsburgh and he has good skills with the glove.
Sandy Alderson, good call on this one.
