Mets: Former first baseman Ike Davis attempting comeback as pitcher

By JT. Teran
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 26: Ike Davis
PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 26: Ike Davis /
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Ike Davis is re-inventing himself as a left-handed pitcher

Remember Ike Davis? Well, the former Mets first baseman is attempting to make a comeback as…wait for it…a pitcher. Yes, you read the correctly. Ike Davis now has “LHP” next to his name on the AZL Dodgers’ roster, and his first appearance in relief actually went quite well.

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Davis made his debut as a left-handed reliever on Monday, and he struck out all three batters he faced earning the first hold of his career.

Davis signed a minor league deal with LA in the offseason, and is now fully focused on pitching, leaving his dreams of returning to the major leagues as a position player behind.

This isn’t the first time Davis has pitched though. In 2015, the former Met made two relief appearances with the Oakland A’s in two blow out games and notched scoreless innings in both. So maybe this shouldn’t have been that much of a surprise.

Back when he was with the Mets, Ike Davis was touted as the next great first baseman for New York and would actually play for the club quite a lot between 2010 and 2014. He’s probably best remembered for his offensive season in 2012 when he hit 32 home runs with an OPS of .771.

Unfortunately, Davis wouldn’t get close to repeating those power numbers over the next couple of seasons, and with the emergence of Lucas Duda, the Mets chose the latter when push came to shove.

Maybe converting full-time to pitching will bring Davis some success. We’ve seen players make the switch between position players and pitchers before, but usually it’s been in the earlier stages of a player’s career.

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According to FanGraph’s Davis’ fastball registered between 88 and 92 mph, so maybe there’s a chance he can be effective at the major league level with some control. If you have a pulse, and are a left-handed pitcher, there’s a good chance someone can use you on their roster to get lefties out.

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