Infielder J.D. Davis goes to the New York Mets as centerpiece of a five-player deal.
In a minor trade that opened a spot on their nearly full 40-man roster, the Astros shipped slugging corner infielder J.D. Davis to the New York Mets on Sunday as the centerpiece of a five-player deal.
Davis and minor league infielder Cody Bohanek were exchanged for three Mets prospects — infielder Luis Santana, catcher Scott Manea and outfielder Ross Adolph. Davis’ departure leaves the Astros’ 40-man roster at 38 with almost six weeks remaining until pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
“We continue to talk to teams about different types of deals, and that’s going to go on,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said Sunday. “I don’t really feel like there’s a set date by which we have to have things done. Deals will happen as they make sense for both sides. But we’re comfortable with our group right now that’s going to spring training.”
The general manager said he was originally not planning to part with Davis, a third-round pick in the 2014 draft who tore through minor league pitching but found minimal success once he was promoted. Luhnow found a higher than anticipated demand for the 25-year-old Davis, though, and called the Mets’ pursuit “aggressive.”
Davis’ pathway to playing time in 2019 was murky at best. Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel man both corner infield spots. The club’s addition of Michael Brantley to play left field and Aledmys Diaz as a utility bench player, coupled with Tyler White’s resurgence in the second half of last season, left Davis with no clear role on the 25-man roster.
The Cal State Fullerton product appeared in 66 major league games over the last two seasons. He made the Astros’ opening-day roster in 2018 but never garnered consistent playing time or sustained success in four stints with them.
Davis eviscerated minor league pitching — he slashed .342/.406/.583 in Class AAA last season and won the Pacific Coast League batting title — but struggled to a .471 OPS in 113 major league plate appearances in 2018.
“We think we got three guys back that are going to help us down the road for a player that probably has more value to the Mets right now than he does to us,” Luhnow said. “Obviously, that could change with some injuries and so forth, but we thought it was a risk worth taking.”
Of the three prospects Houston obtained, only Santana appeared in MLBPipeline’s recent ranking of the Mets’ Top 30 prospects. A 19-year-old Dominican second baseman who played rookie ball last season, Santana led his Kingsport Mets club with a .348 average and .917 OPS.
Manea, a 23-year-old catcher who earned an AllStar appearance in Class A ball last year, affords the Astros more depth at a depleted position within their system. He had an .800 OPS in 2018, knocking 35 extrabase hits while throwing out 29 of 77 base stealers.
“We’ve got some catchers we like in the minor leagues … but we need more guys,” Luhnow said. “Manea is a guy we think can move pretty quickly and has a chance to be a big league catcher. That was a big part of it for us.”
Adolph, an outfielder drafted in the 12th round last year, led the New York Penn League with 12 triples.