MLB

Duda holds key to Ike’s future with Mets

Lucas Duda

Lucas Duda (Neil Miller)

WHAT NEXT? Ike Davis knows his days as the Mets first baseman could be numbered if team brass decides to go with Lucas Duda. (Getty Images)

Ike Davis can read the writing on the wall — literally, considering the Mets post their lineup in a hallway outside the home clubhouse at Citi Field.

And that writing, lately, has included the name Lucas Duda at first base against left-handed starting pitchers. The company line is the Mets want Duda playing every day, but a subtle message has been sent to Davis that he could be headed elsewhere this offseason.

“Obviously, they have a job to do; the front office has to figure out what they want to do in the future, and I have no control of that,” Davis said before the Mets’ 3-1 loss to the Phillies last night.

Though Duda has been a disappointment this season — batting .246 with 14 homers and 54 RBIs after going 1-for-4 last night — team brass remains high on his potential, with a preference to keep him removed from the outfield. It leaves Davis as a decent trade chip heading to an offseason in which the Mets will try to upgrade the outfield, catcher and bullpen without spending much money.

According to a major league talent evaluator who has scouted the Mets, the fact Davis rebounded from a horrendous start to hit 27 homers and drive in 81 runs this season gives him a higher trade value than Duda, who still has not played an entire major league season. Duda spent August at Triple-A Buffalo trying to resurrect his swing after a July swoon.

But the organization is less convinced than it was in spring training that Duda can survive as an everyday major league outfielder.

“As we move forward, right now he is probably still considered one of our outfield guys,” manager Terry Collins said.

Davis’ name swirled in trade rumors at last year’s Winter Meetings, but his value was low coming off a 2011 in which he played only 36 games because of a bone bruise in his left ankle. He spent the first 2 1/2 months of this season in the .160s and .170s before bumping his average to .223 with a solid second half.

“I’ve done a decent job of making my stock go up in the second half, but I don’t think about that stuff,” Davis said. “As long as I have a job and I’m playing baseball, that is all that matters.

“If I wasn’t terrible for two months I could have had a real good year. I still have 27 homers and 80-something RBIs and I still have time to do more.”

The 25-year-old Davis said he would like to stay in the organization that selected him No. 1 (18th overall) in the 2008 draft. But he said he won’t be bitter if he’s dealt.

“If they trade me, they trade me — I can’t do anything about it,” Davis said. “I have to do my job where I am at.”

Does Davis consider himself a cornerstone-type player?

“I think I can help teams win baseball games,” Davis said. “That is all I want to do.”

* Las Vegas will be the home of the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate for at least the next two seasons, it was announced yesterday.

The Mets ended a four-year stay in Buffalo earlier this month. Las Vegas was most recently home for the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate — which will replace the Mets in Buffalo.