Ike Davis is an interesting problem. He started the year in the deepest of swoons and it got so bad that the Mets sent him back to Triple-A to figure stuff out. There he did, and and after returning from Triple-A in early July he hit .267 with an .872 OPS in 48 games, posting a fantastic .429 on-base percentage with more walks (38) than strikeouts (35). Just a total turnaround. Then, man, he strained his oblique and got shut down for the year.
Quite a roller-coaster. But also a bit of a problem. For you see, Davis is arbitration-eligible and that means a pretty decent raise over his current $3.15 million salary. Which is great if he’s the Ike Davis of the second half of 2013 or the Ike Davis of 2012. Not so great if he’s the first-half Davis. And how the injury plays into it all is another variable.
Of course whether to tender Davis a contract is not my decision to make, it’s Sandy Alderson’s. For what it’s worth, Adam Rubin of ESPN reports that there is “no consideration being given” to non-tendering Davis.
I think that’s the right call. There’s no guarantee that Davis won’t continue to struggle for half-seasons at a time, but there’s also too much potential there -- and no better option hanging around -- to consider a non-tender. It’s hard to envision a successful Mets team any time soon that doesn’t feature an effective Ike Davis. There’s no guarantee that the Mets will get that, but they have to stick with him.
