PORT ST. LUCIE — Against all odds, Ike Davis is ready to begin his fifth spring training with the Mets.
The beleaguered first baseman admitted Friday he couldn’t have seen this coming during an offseason in which the organization was open about its willingness to trade him and hand the position to Lucas Duda.
“A little bit of shock I didn’t get traded, but I’m happy I didn’t,” Davis said Friday at the Mets’ spring training complex. “It seemed like we were pretty adamant about going somewhere, so obviously they had to make the right deal and no one offered them what they thought was enough, so I’m a Met.”
The Brewers, Orioles and Pirates were among the teams that had trade talks with the Mets regarding Davis. But the Mets’ insistence on receiving a high-level pitching prospect in return was ultimately an obstacle in striking a deal.
Davis batted .205 with nine homers and 33 RBIs for the Mets in a 2013 season that included a demotion to Triple-A Las Vegas. The previous year, Davis sputtered in the first half before rebounding to finish with 32 homers.
Already, Davis’ spring is off to a rough start — he “forgot” to show up for a recent meeting with manager Terry Collins.
“I kind of blew that one,” Davis said, “because [Collins] told me earlier in the day and it was like six hours later and I just went home and totally forgot about it. I’m sure we’ll talk about it.”
Collins told The Post Davis later apologized for the mix-up, but it wasn’t necessary. The two will eventually have a chat, before the start of the exhibition season.
“I told him we’ve got two weeks,” Collins said.
With a choice to make between Davis and Duda for the starting job, the manager will attempt to get each player 80-to-90 at-bats this spring. To reach that goal, Duda likely will have to play some outfield in camp, and both players may see action in minor league games.
Only a few days into batting practice, Davis is getting noticed.
“I was very impressed with what I saw again [Friday],” Collins said. “I’ve watched him hit for three days now, and he’s got a whole different approach. There’s some similarities, obviously — he’s still got a little bit of a hitch — but there are a lot of guys that have that. [Barry] Bonds had it, and he did OK. [Davis] tried to fix it, and he looks better.”
Davis said he has been hitting since November — a change from previous years, when he waited until January — and believes he discovered a mechanical flaw with his back leg that could have been responsible for his struggles.
And he said competing with his friend Duda for the first-base job won’t be uncomfortable.
“It’s not like we can control anything,” Davis said. “We’ve just got to go play and see what happens. I love Duda, he likes me and we just, whatever — you’ve just got to go play. If one of us isn’t, I’m sure we’ll find another place.”
Davis was asked about comments made by his father, Ron, a former Yankees reliever, who last month said the Mets “screwed up” by going public with their intentions to trade his son.
“I never would have said it, but my dad has his own opinions and he’s a pretty smart guy,” Ike said. “He shouldn’t be asked those questions anyway. He’s entitled to his own opinions, and I haven’t had anyone yell at me yet.”