Mets Speaking With Baltimore & Others Regarding Ike Davis

According to Mike Puma of the New York Post, the Mets are having dialogue with Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore about first baseman Ike Davis.

Aug 20, 2013; New York, NY, USA; New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis (29) rounds the bases after hitting a solo home run against the Atlanta Braves during the eighth inning of a game at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

In talks with Baltimore, the Mets asked for pitching prospect Eduardo Rodriguez, a 6′ 2″, 200 pound left handed starting pitcher.

Rodriguez, 20, who finished the 2013 campaign in Double-A, is ranked as Baltimore’s second best prospect by MLB.com.  Here’s a bit more on him:

"Rodriguez uses a combination of a late-moving two-seam and four-seam fastballs, a biting slider and a solid changeup as his primary repertoire. He induces ground balls and swings and misses with both velocity and pitch location. In short, he knows how to pitch. And he’ll get better with more experience against quality hitters."

According to Puma, Baltimore has so far refused to part with Rodriguez in exchange for Davis.

Similarly, the Pirates have refused to deal Nick Kingham, and the Brewers are so far holding on to Tyler Thornburg.

Thoughts:

Sandy Alderson continues to aim high in trade talks for Ike Davis, and the teams who are in need of a first baseman continue to balk at the asking price.

Asking for a team’s second best prospect for Davis is a bit of a reach, but asking for a pitcher like Thornburg – who most view as a reliever or back of the rotation starter – seems fair.

It doesn’t appear that Sandy Alderson will bend here, nor should he.

The worst that happens, is that the Mets head into spring training with a first baseman who was much improved in the second half of 2013, has hit 30 home runs in the majors, and has the ability to be a plus defender.
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