With Jason Bay Returning, Mets Should Send Ike Davis To Minors

It's time for the Mets to send Ike Davis to Buffalo. At the end of April, the idea sounded crazy, but nearing the end of the first week of June, it makes sense. Jason Bay is expected to join the Mets today, and Terry Collins has indicated all along that Bay will be in the starting lineup upon his return.

Of course, in order to activate Bay, the Mets will have to make room on the 25-man roster. The team has publicly insisted that Davis will stay at this level, which means it's likely that one of Josh Satin, Jordany Valdespin, or Vinny Rottino will be sent to the minors to clear a spot for Bay. The Mets would be better off sending Davis to Buffalo.

Among qualified hitters in Major League Baseball, Ike's .218 wOBA and 33 wRC+ rank dead last. His .160 average and .226 on-base percentage do, too, and Davis' .274 slugging percentage is better than just 3 of the 163 players on the list. Whether or not a trip to the minors will help Davis get back to his previous level of production is unknown, but it would certainly allow the Mets to give their offense a boost.

If Davis were in Buffalo, Lucas Duda, who leads the team in home runs, would move to first base. Bay, Andres Torres, and a platoon of Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Scott Hairston would take over as the regular outfield. All five hitters have obviously been better than Davis this year.

To top things off, Davis hasn't looked as good as he usually does in the field. His inability to turn a routine double play last night was just one of the Mets' several defensive mistakes, but if Davis isn't making the routine plays, there's almost no way to justify his presence on the roster.

Ike's long-term success is still very important to the Mets, and I, for one, will be rooting for him to get it together in Buffalo and return to the big leagues in short order. For now, though, the Mets should give the players who are producing results playing time while Davis tries to get back on track.