Pittsburgh Pirates Rumors: Bucs checking in on Mets first baseman Ike Davis

As Pittsburgh Pirates general manager Neal Huntington still searches for an upgrade at first base at the 2013 Winter Meetings, he is seeing numerous option fall off the board.

The acquisition of previous Pirates’ target Logan Morrison by the Seattle Mariners has thinned the market out even more, which makes potentially signing James Loney an even bigger priority.

Aug 30, 2013; Washington, DC, USA; New York Mets first baseman

(29) is congratulated by teammates after hitting a two run home run during the fourth inning against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park. Mandatory Credit:

-USA TODAY Sports

But with Corey Hart also signing with the Mariners, teams like the Milwaukee Brewers and others will now be in the Loney sweepstakes, potentially bringing Huntington back to the trade market to acquire an upgrade at first base.

The latest guy Huntington and his staff have checked in on is New York Mets first baseman Ike Davis.

Jim Duquette of MLB Network Radio reports that the Brewers, Rays, and Pirates are all in the mix to acquire Davis and Adam Rubin of ESPN New York had a similar report earlier yesterday afternoon.

Both sides report that the Mets are seeking a pitching prospect in return and that the Brewers have already turned down a swap involving right-hander Tyler Thornburg.

It’s worth noting that all three teams are also linked to Loney.

Davis is a guy with power potential, but you can see why the Mets are ready to give up on him after he batted just .205/.326/.334 with nine home runs and 33 RBI over 103 games this past season.

That’s just one down year though, considering he hit 32 homers while driving in 90 runs in 2012. However even during that productive campaign, Davis still only batted .227 with a .771 OPS.

However one good thing of note is that Davis hits right-handing pitching much better than left-handers, posting a career .256/.356/.471 split against right handers, compared to only a .204/.268/.334 line against southpaws.

With the presence of Gaby Sanchez on the Pirates roster, a potential acquisition of Davis could play out good as he wouldn’t have to play against left-handed pitching and the short right field porch of PNC Park should play well for his power numbers.