Red Sox Scouting Ike Davis; Jeurys Familia to Pitch in Relief This Winter

The last two weeks have been full of Ike Davis trade rumors, which would make room for Lucas Duda at his natural position of first base. Sandy Alderson has maintained that since power has been one of the biggest issues for the Mets the last few seasons, the only way they could justify trading their current first baseman is if they received equal return in the home run department. However, that didn’t stop two scouts affiliated with the Red Sox from checking him out in game action.

After trading away Adrian Gonzalez in the blockbuster Boston-Los Angeles trade in August, the BoSox are not content with James Loney being their starting first baseman in 2013, and are not only looking for help there, but also in their rotation and outfield. Coincidentally enough, that’s where the Mets have some depth and potential that could be coveted in the trade market. People were trying to figure out whether the scouts were checking out Davis on Monday night in Miami, or someone else. Mike Francesca thought they might be looking at David Wright, but both Jon Heyman and Peter Gammons agreed the scouts were taking a peek at Ike, just in case he becomes available this winter.

Sep 27, 2012; Flushing, NY, USA; New York Mets player Ike Davis hits a home run in the second inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: William Perlman/THE STAR-LEDGER via US PRESSWIRE

Needless to say, it doesn’t look like Boston is able to offer anything that would be attractive enough for the Mets to part with their biggest power threat, and they shouldn’t even entertain the thought. The core of this offense is Davis, Ruben Tejada, and David Wright; none of these players should be going anywhere, and I don’t think they will. If I were Sandy Alderson, the only way I even ponder shipping Davis to Boston would be if Jacoby Ellsbury is involved in the talks, and with outfield depth a concern in Beantown, him becoming available seems unlikely.

Now that the off-season is officially upon the Mets, we can start circling dates on our calendars to look forward to in 2013. The official report date for New York’s pitchers and catchers in Port St. Lucie is set for Feburary 13th, with position players following them to camp on February 18th. The quest for a successful year will start when the Grapefruit League games begin on February 23rd.

Yesterday, we talked about Jeurys Familia playing winter ball in the Dominican, and how his role with his team changed from being a reliever to being inserted into the starting rotation. Well, thankfully that has changed, as Collins reported yesterday that he’s spoken to his young hurler, telling him that he is to continue coming out of the bullpen this winter. That was the original plan, until Familia’s team asked him to do otherwise. Collins said on WFAN yesterday that he and the coaching staff like him as a reliever because of his tendency to go right after hitters. A 95 mph fastball doesn’t hurt either.

Oh, and Sandy Alderson made some comments to Mets beat writers before yesterday’s season finale about his plan moving forward into the off-season. Don’t worry, we have it all for you right here.