Pirates Acquire First Baseman Ike Davis From Mets
NEW YORK (93-7 THE FAN/AP) — The New York Mets have traded slumping first baseman Ike Davis to the Pittsburgh Pirates for minor league pitcher Zack Thornton and a player to be named.
The Mets announced the move just minutes before they played Atlanta on Friday night. Davis was on the field during batting practice earlier in the day.
The 27-year-old was hitting .208 with one home run and five RBIs in 12 games for the Mets.
He was platooning with Lucas Duda and Josh Satin at first base.
Pirates General Manager Neal Huntington said that the team traded for Davis because, "he's done a really nice job against right-handed pitchers in his career. [He's] a very nice compliment for Gaby [Sanchez] and a guy that we think has his good days ahead of him."
Pirates GM Neal Huntington On Ike Davis Trade
(Photo by Jared Wickerham/Getty Images)
Huntington went on to say that Davis brings left-handed power and is a solid fielder.
In his rookie season, Davis hit .264 with 19 homeruns and 71 RBIs. Injuries have plagued the first baseman since then, but in a healthy 2012 campaign he hit .227 with 32 homeruns and 90 RBIs.
Huntington has confidence that Davis can produce like he did during his rookie season.
"We have confidence that our guys are going to do everything in their power to help him make the peaks a little higher and the valleys less frequent, and if that happens, then we have a guy we can have at first base for multiple years," said Huntington.
Davis was a first-round pick by the Mets in 2008.
Thornton was 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA in four relief appearances at Triple-A Indianapolis. The 25-year-old righty originally was signed by Oakland.
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