There was a nice feeling in Metland tonight, because the Amazin’s were able to comeback on the Yankees and take Game 1 of the second leg of the Subway Series, 4-2.
Oh, it was a happy day, but there is still a lot of work to do as the Mets approach the All-Star break. You don’t know if Brodie Van Wagenen is going to buy or sell at this point, or even stand pat.
One thing is for certain though. The Mets general manager needs open up a space in the lineup to get J.D. Davis regular at bats for the rest of the year.
Davis, who hit a solo home run tonight to cut the Yankee lead in half, is a man without a position. A natural infielder, he is blocked at first by Pete Alonso and at third by Todd Frazier, so to get his young hitter at bats, Mickey Callaway is using Davis as a platoon in the outfield.
Something needs to change very soon.
You see, after Jeff McNeil and Alonso, Davis may be the Mets best hitter. He it hitting .376 at Citi Field, with a 1.083 OPS. Overall he’s hitting .283 with nine homersand 25 RBI in 198 at bats.
“He goes up there and has an approach,” Callaway said about Davis. “He prepares almost more than anyone I have ever seen…and that leads to success.”
All of this comes as a part time player. It’s time to get him more playing time.
Van Wagenen has taken some criticism for some of the moves he made this past offseason, but acquiring Davis isn’t one of them. Acquiring him from the Astros may have been the rookie GM’s best move and now it’s time to take off the training wheels.
The Mets would be best served by seeing if they could move Frazier at the deadline. Although he is playing alright and is a great guy to have around, the third baseman’s contract is expiring and is putting up similar numbers to Davis. Right now, he is hitting .261 with 11 homers and 34 RBI, after missing the first month of the season. These are productive numbers, making Frazier a very tradable commodity.
The Phillies could use him, as they need someone at third after the Mikhail Franco experiment went wrong and he could meet back up with his buddy Jay Bruce.
Or maybe the Yankees would grab him, as they like redundant players and he starred in the Bronx postseason two years ago.
Oh, there are plenty of possibilities.
But moving frazier off the team would open up third for Jeff McNeil, while allowing Davis to play everyday in right. Even if the Mets are still in the wild card race, it’s time see what the younger guys can do.
Move Frazier and play Davis. It makes total sense for the Mets, no matter what your position is at the deadline.
And let’s hope Jed Lowrie doesn’t come back either.
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