The Mets recalled Lucas Duda before Saturday’s game. Now the question is, what exactly do they do with him?
Manager Terry Collins won’t risk his team’s improved outfield defense and isn’t benching Ike Davis, so Duda will be a backup first baseman and lefty bat off the bench.
“Anytime you’re in the big leagues everything is good,’’ said Duda, who arrived in the fourth inning . He surprisingly had been optioned at the end of his rehab assignment, but got recalled.
“I wasn’t hitting too good in my rehab assignment, so it is what it is. I’m just glad to be back. … I wasn’t sure what was going to happen. I’m glad to be here and a part of the team.’’
He’d been playing rehab games for Triple-A Las Vegas when he was officially optioned to the 51s on Aug. 7. But he had played first in his past dozen starts, hitting .308 with eight RBIs and 13 runs scored in 18 games at Triple-A. And having to recall him before tomorrow or burn his final option, Alderson did just that an optioned Mike Baxter.
“Wherever [they] put me, I played. I’ll play anywhere,’’ Duda said.
“[General manager] Sandy [Alderson] told me the other day he was thinking about calling up Lucas Duda. He thought it’d be good to get him up here. So I said you’re the boss, and if it’s time to get him up here, we’ll get him up here,’’ said Terry Collins. “I’m not probably going to disrupt what’s going on in the outfield right now, so he’s probably going to take more ground balls at first than in the outfield.’’
* David Wright (strained right hamstring) took ground balls and threw yesterday, but despite being expected to go to Port St. Lucie next week Collins still wasn’t ready to divulge a timetable on his return. Collins added Duda’s arrival will keep Wilmer Flores from playing first, but he’ll get some time at second.
* Ike Davis had a single, double and a walk, two of the Mets’ three hits. Their two runs over their last three games mark their worst span since Aug. 13-Aug. 15, 2010.
In the 17 starts where Matt Harvey didn’t win, the Mets have scored just 29 total runs while he’s been on the mound, an average of 1.71 per game, They’ve scored 44 total runs in those tilts, or just 2.59 per game.