The Mets made no secret of their intentions to trade the often-struggling first baseman Ike Davis this offseason, but after their failure to find the right match, Davis' dad has publically bashed the franchise, saying "they screwed up" by making their intentions to deal his son so public.
According to ESPN New York, Ike's father and ex-Yankee Ron Davis said that the Mets shouldn't have made the shopping of his son to other teams so public.
"I think that's why the Mets have really screwed up in that situation -- because they've publicly done it so much, it's saying to my son, 'Hey, we don't want you anymore,'" Ron Davis told ESPN New York Tuesday afternoon at a Baseball Assistance Team charity event in Manhattan. "So I think they backed themselves into a corner saying, 'We want to trade you, but we want 'X' amount.'"
The Milwaukee Brewers were a rumored top team to land Davis, however with recent signings to help their first base situation, it seems as though a deal with the Brew Crew is off the table. Ron Davis discussed those deals with ESPN New York.
"Now, with Milwaukee getting [Mark] Reynolds and [Lyle] Overbay and this guy, now they're backing themselves into a corner. They're in a situation like, 'Well, heck, we may have to keep him now,'" he said, according to ESPN New York.
Ron Davis said the Mets should have taken a quieter approach.
"If you would have done it quietly and said, 'Hey, well people called us, we didn't call them,' then you could have something to say," Ron Davis said per ESPN New York. "But when you've gone out publicly and said, 'Hey, we don't want you here anymore' basically, he's learned the game. He's been in the game four years and playing pro ball for six years. So he understands."
Ike Davis struggled for most of 2013 and even spent some time in the minors when the Mets sent him down last summer. Davis' struggles started in 2012 where he had a terrible first half but was still able to finish strong following the All-Star break by lifting his homer total to 32 and his RBI total to 90, while his average was an unimpressive .227.
In 2013, Ike Davis appeared in 103 games at the major league level and hit just .205 with nine homers and 33 RBIs.
Despite the trade rumor mill, Ron Davis believes his son has handled the publicity of his trade rumors well.
"Like I told him, I was released three times, I was traded three times and sold once to Japan. So, who cares?" Ron Davis told ESPN. "It's part of the game. I told him, 'You're like a piece of hamburger meat, just sitting there at the grocery store. And when you're first put out there in that wrapper, you look real good -- bright and red. And the older you get, you start getting tarnished, a little brownish, and people don't pick you as much.'
Davis has appeared in 442 games in his four-year MLB career, and has a career .242 batting average with 67 homers and 219 RBIs.
It remains to be seen if he'll be with the Mets come Opening Day in April.
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