Lucas Duda's Met Future is at First Base, not Right Field

Home
History
Lucas Duda's Met Future is at First Base, not Right Field

When the season started, the Mets were dependent on Ike Davis and Lucas Duda to provide power to the middle of their lineup and give some protection to David Wright. Both Duda and Davis have the ability to bust the game wide open with one swing of the bat and when the season started, it was imperative to have both their bats in the batting order. One problem. Both players are best suited to play first base. With no designated hitter in the National League, Duda found himself having to learn how to play right field on the fly. The Mets were willing to live with periodical errors in the field because they believed his bat would more than make up for it.

A few problems derailed the Mets plans. First, Duda was a bigger liability in right field than anticipated. His disastrous play contributed to an already terrible fielding team and the errors just continued to pile up. Secondly, Duda stopped hitting. In 43 July at-bats he was hitting just .140 for the month. Since he was hurting the team in the field and at bat, Duda quickly found himself sent down to Triple-A Buffalo. Manager Terry Collins has given Buffalo manager Wally Backman instructions to play Duda in the outfield while he is in the minors. Duda's demotion has raised the question of whether he is the long term answer in right field for the New York Mets.

The short answer is no. He is too big a liability in the field and is at a point in his career where you can’t be learning how to play a particular position at the major league level. I do think, however, that Duda’s future with the Mets is at first base and I would make roster moves surrounding that.

I would look to include Ike Davis in a package this off-season to Arizona for a deal including Justin Upton. Before you freak out at the thought of that, hear my reasons for making the move and then come to your own conclusions.

First, Duda and Davis are essentially the same player. Davis will give you a little more power and Duda will hit for a better average but they are both big left-handed power hitters. They both strike out a lot and I don't believe either of them will hit near .300 for their careers. To me, their production evens out and when you add what you’re going to get from adding Upton it works out very well for the Mets.

Second, the trade provides the Mets with another right-handed bat in their lineup. Upton is only 24 but has hit 30 homers in a year once in his career and has all the tools to be a great player. The Mets are so left-handed at this point and this trade helps address the left-handed problem and provides a guy who can hit for both average and power from the right side. Upton will also steal a few bases here and there, something Duda and Davis to not do.

Third, Upton would provide stability to at least one of the outfield positions. The Mets do not have an everyday player at any of their outfield positions at the moment. Upton would come in and you would be able to pencil him into the lineup everyday in right field. Like I said he is only 24 and is signed through the 2015 season at a very reasonable price.

Fourth, this deal could actually happen. The Mets would get more on the open market for Davis than they would for Duda and the Diamondbacks may be willing to do a Davis-Upton trade straight up. Upton is unhappy in Arizona and has had trade rumors circling around him for some time now. He has shown a poor attitude at times and you have question if he has worn his welcome out in Arizona. Maybe a chance of scenery would do wonders for him. On the Mets side of the coin, Sandy Alderson needs to do something with the outfield. It was rumored the Mets were looking at Upton leading up to the trade deadline so maybe something could be worked out this off-season.

Regardless of whether this trade happens or not, it is clear that Lucas Duda is not the present nor the future in right field for the New York Mets. If the trade does not happen, Duda will have to become a much better fielder or else he will either stay in the minors or play first base for another major league franchise.