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Just as the Mets made JD Davis available in a trade, according to ESPN, the difficult stretch of the third base continues.
In Thursday’s 6-3 loss to the Braves, Davis struck out three strikes, going 0-for-4 overall. That left him in a 1-to-15 fall with seven strikeouts in his last five games, before Friday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline.
Manager Luis Rojas has claimed Davis is frustrated with his less than stellar performance since returning from the injured list on July 16, rather than frustration with the deadline looming over his head.
“There’s nothing that bothers JD more than the three strikeouts he had today against pitchers who could possibly do damage,” Rojas said.
After the game, Rojas spoke to Davis, who Rojas said was “thinking a lot” about his performance.
“He’s a guy who understands sequences very well and I think he had an idea of what they were doing and was still missing a lot of pitches,” Rojas added.
Although Davis is still beating 0.309 for the season and has an impressive 0.398 based percentage and 0.916 OPS percentage, his current funk has made him more of a hindrance than an assist.
“He’s just going a little bit of a road, but he has to keep his confidence high and work hard,” Rojas said.
Davis’ field has never been phenomenal, with minus-21 defensive points saved and minus-10 above-average strikeouts over his five MLB seasons. Earlier this season, the 28-year-old made three mistakes in two games.
The Mets are involved with the Cubs in the Kris Bryant commercial derby, but the Mets also have third base options beyond Davis. Jonathan Villar replaced him when he was injured, having behaved well enough that he finished third even with Davis in good health. Luis Guillorme has also started 17 third baseman games this season.
Villar and Guillorme are both versatile enough to play shortstop as well – Davis is not – while Francisco Lindor recovers from slanting tension.
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