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PORT ST. LUCIE — J.D. Davis came to spring training with the comfort of knowing he’s considered more a third baseman than left fielder. That said, will he be the Mets’ primary third baseman heading into the season?
It’s a question that might not be solved until camp’s conclusion, after an offseason in which the Mets passed on acquiring a proven commodity at the position, such as Nolan Arenado, Kris Bryant or Justin Turner.
With Jeff McNeil, Jonathan Villar and Luis Guillorme among the infield options who can shuffle between second and third base, it’s not a forgone conclusion the position belongs to Davis, whose defense has been suspect throughout his major league career.
“There’s plans to give him a lot of playing time [at third], of course, in the regular season,” manager Luis Rojas said Wednesday after a team workout. “He might be the guy that gets the most playing time there. We still want to see camp going and competition going.”
Davis, after emerging as an offensive force in 2019, regressed at the plate last season, when he had a slash line of .247/.371/.389 with six homers and 19 RBIs in 56 games. Near the season’s conclusion, he cited the absence of hitting coach Chili Davis — who worked remotely from home in Arizona because of COVID-19 concerns — as a factor in his inconsistency.
Chili Davis is back on-site with the Mets, bringing a security blanket of sorts to J.D. Davis. The hitting coach said his pupil got into bad habits after a stretch in which he was getting beat with the fastball. To compensate, J.D. Davis was rotating his hips early and his hands weren’t involved in the swing.
“I had a goal this offseason knowing what I needed to work on and I think that’s huge for any player,” J.D. Davis said.
The brevity of the season didn’t help.
“He kind of got into a rut and was trying to work his way out of it, but everything was so compressed for him last year,” Chili Davis said. “I think he’s got time now, he’s got a lengthy spring training and he’s got 162 ballgames to deal with the ups and downs.”
The concerns about J.D. Davis’ defense are larger, after a season in which he was minus-three in outs above average as a third baseman, according to Baseball Savant. Davis began the season playing mostly left field, where he was minus-two in outs above average.
But with plenty of other outfield options, including newly acquired Kevin Pillar and Albert Almora Jr., along with Dominic Smith — who figures to see significant action in left field if a universal DH isn’t implemented — Davis’ chances will come mostly at third base.
“It’s huge where you go into a spring training where you know what position you are going to play or where you’re mostly going to play,” Davis said. “During the offseason the plan was to get [more] agile or side to side in a way. Get it going front and back.”
The Mets have enough questions about Davis’ defense that they considered splashier alternatives before deciding it wasn’t worth the cost in prospects or, in the case of the free-agent Turner, the financial commitment.
“I think it’s actually pretty cool to be [mentioned] in a package deal with Nolan Arenado and Matt Chapman and Kris Bryant,” Davis said. “I think that is actually pretty cool and says a lot about where I have come from as a player and so I have full confidence in my ability. I’m a major leaguer, I am a big leaguer and I know that and I am going to stand behind that.”
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