The Mets need every home run they can get, and that means they need another big power year from first baseman Ike Davis.
The team avoided an arbitration showdown with Davis yesterday when the two sides came to agreement on a one-year deal worth $3.125 million, according to an industry source. Considering Davis bashed 32 home runs last season to lead the Mets, that’s a relative bargain for general manager Sandy Alderson. Davis was asking for $3.7 million, while the Mets countered at $2.825.
How important is Davis to the 2013 Mets? Just consider he hit 11 more home runs than David Wright, even after a terribly slow start. Only four Mets registered double figures in home runs last season: Davis, Wright( 21), Scott Hairston (20) and Lucas Duda (15). Davis, who will turn 26 in March, also compiled 90 RBIs, three short of Wright’s team-leading 93 RBIs.
There is plenty of room for Davis to grow as a hitter. He batted .227 last season while coming off an ankle injury that cut his 2011 season to 36 games and seven home runs. In the first two months of last season, Davis managed only five home runs and hit .170.
Only 11 of Davis’ home runs came at spacious Citi Field, where he batted .188. He was the Mets’ big threat against right-handed pitchers with 24 home runs. Hairston remains a free agent, so the Mets’ current four outfielders: Duda, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Mike Baxter and Collin Cowgill combined for a grand total of 26 home runs last season.
The Mets were 22nd in the majors in home runs with 139. Only five National League teams hit fewer home runs, but the team that finished dead last in the majors, the Giants (103), won the World Series.
The Mets’ plan is to emulate the Giants by playing sound baseball in a large ballpark and getting tremendous pitching to carry them through.
Home run hitters also cost big money and the Mets are not spending big money. Davis is not eligible to become a free agent until the 2017 season. With this agreement, the Mets only have one arbitration-eligible player remaining: Daniel Murphy. He is asking for $3.4 million while the Mets submitted a $2.55 million offer. Reliever Bobby Parnell agreed to a one-year deal worth $1.7 million on Thursday.