Mets first baseman Ike Davis can be had, but will Milwaukee pay the price?
The New York Mets and Milwaukee Brewers are still in talks about a trade for NY first baseman Ike Davis, FOX Sports' Ken Rosenthal reports.
While the two teams are still talking, Rosenthal also reports that Milwaukee is still unwilling to give up right-handed pitcher Tyler Thornburg in a potential deal.
The 25-year-old Thornburg has impressed Milwaukee, going a combined 21-19 with a 3.42 ERA over three years in the minor leagues. Thornburg continued to improve once he was promoted to the majors, where he went 3-1 with a 2.64 ERA in 10 starts and 16 relief appearances spread over the last two seasons. Thornburg has a good fastball that normally sits between 91-93 MPH and a big breaking curveball, normally around 78 MPH.
The Mets and Brewers reportedly talked about Ike Davis earlier in the week at the Winter Meetings. It was on Tuesday that Jim Duquette originally reported the Mets interest in Thornburg. According to Duquette, Milwaukee said no and—at the time—were told by New York that they "were out" on Davis.
With the Seattle Mariners acquiring both Corey Hart and Logan Morrisonearlier this week, the first base market thinned, leaving James Loney—who the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Tom Haudricourt tweeted may be out of the Brewers price range—and Ike Davis as the top options. While Davis is coming off of a difficult season (.205/.326/.334, 9 HR, 33 RBI in 317 at-bats), Milwaukee has needed a first baseman since Prince Fielder left the Brew Crew for free agency in 2012.
Even with the Mets acquisition of Bartolo Colon on Wednesday night, Sandy Alderson always tries to get the best possible return when making trades, and you can never have enough pitching.
