Jason Bay was cleared to resume baseball activities a few days ago and will likely return in 2-3 weeks, creating something of a logjam in the outfield upon his return. With both Nieuwenhuis and Duda producing and Torres being a defensive juggernaut while holding his own in the batter’s box, the Mets will have four major league talents on the roster for three outfield positions.
That is unless the Mets decide to send Ike Davis down for a little while to get his head on straight and have Duda brush off his first base glove. Ike has not yet caught up to the game offensively since missing most of 2011, batting an ugly .168 with an even uglier 38 strikeouts. He is clearly not ready to face major-league pitching at this time and needs some time in Buffalo to get his old swing back.
Duda can handle the bag at first, allowing for an everyday outfield of Bay, Torres and Nieuwenhuis. Terry Collins already indicated that Bay will have his starting leftfield job back when he ultimately returns, saying “he didn’t come here to be an extra player”. With Captain Kirk playing too well to bench, someone needs to grab some pin or be sent down, and if he continues to struggle, unfortunately that someone needs to be Ike Davis.
The Blue Jays just sent their first baseman/DH Adam Lind down who was having a similar year to Davis and has been a successful major league ballplayer for much longer than he has. It wouldn’t be permanent, just long enough for Davis to hopefully get back to his old self.
I hate to be the one to have to say it, but Ike is hurting the team right now with his lack of production. This is more than just a slump, this is Davis looking completely lost. He needs to go down, get back to the Ike Davis capable of a .300 average and 30+ home runs before returning.
Again, Ike Davis is one of the most talented and hard-nosed players on this roster because whoever this .168 Ike Davis is, he isn’t going to cut it for much longer if the Mets have any intention of competing in 2012.
