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Ike Davis' Father: Mets 'Really Screwed Up' Situation With My Son

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- It appears that Ike Davis will be in Port St. Lucie for spring training with the Mets.

It's likely that he'll be on the club's 25-man roster come Opening Day.

If you're surprised by that ... well ... you should be.

General manager Sandy Alderson talked with several teams about trading the embattled first baseman this offseason, and it appeared that he was as good as gone, but the asking price was reportedly too high.

Now, after months of rumors and speculation, Alderson seems content to go to war with Davis in 2014.

Ike's father, Ron, thinks that the situation was handled very poorly by the organization.

"I think how the Mets really screwed up in that situation is because they've publicly done it so much," Ron Davis, who pitched for the Yankees from 1978-1981, said on Tuesday. "Saying to my son, 'We don't want you anymore.' … We want to trade you but we want 'X' amount, but with Milwaukee getting (Mark) Reynolds and (Lyle) Overbay, now they're backed into a corner."

Ike had a miserable season for the Amazin's in 2013. The 26-year-old batted .205 with nine homers and 33 RBIs in 103 games, striking out 101 times. He was demoted to Triple-A Las Vegas in June before being called back up in July.

"They're in a situation like, 'Well, heck, we may have to keep him now,'" Ron Davis said. "If you would have done it quietly and said, 'Hey, well people called us, we didn't call them,' then you could have something to say."

The Mets avoided arbitration with the former first-round pick last week, as the two sides agreed on a one-year, $3.5 million deal.

Unlike the past two seasons, when Davis was the clear-cut starting first baseman from the get-go, he's expected to compete with Lucas Duda and Josh Satin in camp. It is also possible that the Mets will add another first baseman, either via free agency or trade, prior to spring training.

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