If only New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis could be the player he was in the second half of 2012 (.888 OPS, 20 HR in 75 games) over the course of a full season, he likely wouldn’t be on the trade block this offseason. And if he were, teams would be much more willing to match general manager Sandy Alderson’s asking price for the 26-year-old.
While Alderson has indicated to Anthony DiComo of MLB.com that he’s fine with the current logjam at first base as the team heads into spring training, it’s still very likely he’d prefer to send Davis and his $3.5 million salary packing.
The move would make room for the much more consistent Lucas Duda (.852 OPS in 2011, .718 OPS in 2012, .767 OPS in 2013) in a possible platoon with Josh Satin, who had an .882 OPS in 82 at-bats against left-handed pitching last season.
Kendrys Morales is the last viable first-base option on the free-agent market, although teams are shying away from his asking price and the draft pick it would cost any team that signs him. Trading for Davis could still be a much more preferable way to upgrade their lineup.
Here are four teams who could still have interest in acquiring Davis and the potential trade piece it would take to land him.