NY Mets: Three best moves from the Brodie Van Wagenen era

2) Quietly acquiring infielder J.D. Davis

From acquiring Robison Cano/Edwin Diaz to bringing back relief pitcher Jeurys Familia, Van Wagenen put together quite an entertaining 2019 off-season. Yes, a handful of his major moves have not worked out as intended, but there was one move that caught everyone off guard. Not because it was a major deal, rather what it turned into.

The Mets dealt three minor leaguers, outfielder Ross Adolph, infielder Luis Santana, and catcher Scott Manea to the Houston Astros in return for infielders J.D. Davis and Cody Bohanek. It was a deal that at the time that many viewed as another minor depth acquisition.

Upon acquiring Davis, Van Wagenen said how “J.D. is a versatile offensive talent… He’s young, had success vs. lefties and he’ll provide depth at the corner positions.”

Little did anyone know though just how much of an understatement that would be.

Quickly, Davis turned into one of the team’s most productive hitters. After hitting a .194avg over two seasons for the Astros, Davis has hit .288 for the Mets in two seasons, with 28 home runs and 76RBI. After being moved around in the field due to below-average defense in 2019, he improved once returning to his natural third base position in 2020.

This season, Davis’ status was up in the air. Until the announcement of Robinson Cano’s 162-game suspension for PEDs, Davis appeared to be an odd-man-out because of his average-at-best defensive ability. He has proven to be a fantastic offensive player who can be a middle of the order bat for the Mets. That is though if the team does not include him in a trade this off-season.