Mets castoff J.D. Davis making himself at home with Giants — and at third base

NEW YORK — For veteran J.D. Davis, nothing is more important than repetition. He didn’t receive ample opportunity for much of his Mets tenure to regularly display his talents. The Giants have not only given him that chance, they’ve allowed him the time and space to make mistakes and learn from them. That security from an organization has been invaluable. 

These were the sentiments from a reflective Davis, as he returned to Citi Field this weekend and expressed both gratitude and conviction about his winding baseball journey in an interview with FOX Sports.

From day one with the Giants, they expressed confidence in him to grow into the player he always envisioned he’d be. As Davis likes to often say: "I've always been a fan of myself, but I've always been a critic of myself." His first-rate preparation and homework has given him the confidence to believe he could be not only good, but great at this game. He just needed to be given the chance. 

"One person who always believed J.D. could play high level defense was J.D.," Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. 

The result of San Francisco giving Davis that chance has been growth. He’s excelled at the plate, thanks in part to a swing adjustment. Davis has been able to see the ball a little longer this season by getting his front foot down early. And he’s grown defensively at third base to become one of the best fielders in the game at the hot corner. 

Entering Friday, Davis was tied for sixth in outs above average (six) among all position players. One of the players he’s tied with is two-time Gold Glove winner Manny Machado. Two others are shortstops. By runs above average, Davis has saved just as many runs at third base (five) as Machado, José Ramírez and Jeimer Candelario. There are only two third basemen in MLB who have saved more runs than Davis: Ke'Bryan Hayes and Ryan McMahon, who each have saved seven runs. 

"It's definitely different, and it's a breath of fresh air just to go through the adjustments even if I were to fail," said Davis, who particularly feels this way at the plate. "I'm a guy that's very hitterish, and if I don't have the opportunity to make my adjustments very soon, it's hard to find any adjustment or any rhythm in the game."  

If you’ve been watching Davis since his days with the Mets, these excellent defensive metrics are eyebrow raising, to say the least. Just last year, Davis only made five starts at third before the Mets traded him to the Giants at the deadline, in part because he was still recovering from a 2021 wrist injury and had yet to prove himself at the hot corner. Whether it was double clutching the ball, inadequate footwork or bad positioning, Davis looked more uncomfortable at third than he did confident. It's been the opposite this year with the Giants.

Davis said he attributes his defensive improvements to being healthy, working with Giants infield coach Kai Correa and, most importantly, repetition. Technically a rookie in 2019 with the Mets, though he was already 26 years old and had played two abbreviated seasons with the Astros, Davis doesn't believe he previously got much opportunity to grow at the hot corner. In his first year with the Mets, he logged 220 innings at third base. In 2020, he logged 269. In 2021, he logged 382. In 2022, before he was traded to the Giants, he logged just 42 innings at third. Halfway through 2023, Davis has made 55 of his 65 starts at third and logged 482.2 innings there. Those marks are both career highs for a season. 

"In 2020, a whole ordeal happened," Davis said. "[Then-Mets manager] Luis Rojas told me I was going to play more outfield. And then sure enough, I think two weeks into the season, they put me at third. I remember talking to [third base coach Gary] DiSarcina at the time, and I was telling him, ‘Damn, we should've mixed in some ground balls.’ I hadn't taken a ground ball in over three months because I was looking forward to playing outfield the whole time."

In New York, Davis said he felt like he was in "survival mode" due to his inconsistent playing time. After emerging as an offensive threat in 2019, Davis regressed a bit in the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season. In 2021, Davis played through a torn ligament in his right wrist, and still posted a 125 OPS+ across 73 games. Though he was largely productive at the plate, Davis cited "instability" within the Mets organization as part of the reason for his .248/.340/.418 slash line in 66 games with the club in the first half of last season. 

By instability, Davis was referring to the revolving door within the Mets’ coaching staff and at the general manager position. In just three and a half years with the Mets, Davis played under three different GMs, three different managers and three different hitting coaches. To Davis, it felt like all nine had contrasting ideas or wanted something different from the team. Within the clubhouse, players frequently lamented how that instability was impacting their play. 

"It just felt like so many interchanging parts," Davis said. "There was no stability. Going from 2019, playing every single day, I kicked open the door and I'm getting more opportunity. And over the seasons, it kind of went from, I’m the starting left fielder, to backup third base, to then, alright, just a DH. At that time, I was still getting my feet under me just to figure out the big-league level.

"In 2022, I was one of the only hitters where if I was to hit a home run, I wouldn't be in the lineup the next day, or the following day. It would just feel like I would play every three, four, five days. It was almost like if I were to go up and get an at-bat for the first time in three to four days, it was more so, I'm not even trying to get a hit, I'm just trying to be on time right now. I'm just trying to be in survival mode."

With the Giants, who have surprised as a playoff contender, Davis has not only been surviving but thriving. This first half of the 2023 season has "absolutely" felt like his best. His .818 OPS tops those of star third basemen Nolan Arenado and Austin Riley, which has Davis regularly appearing as the Giants’ cleanup hitter. His 125 wRC+ ranks first among all qualified National League third basemen. His 44 RBI are most on the Giants and fifth-most among in the league at his position. 

Seven years into his big-league career, Davis has a solid chance of earning his first All-Star nod. 

This comeback campaign with the Giants is just the beginning, Davis believes. Now that he’s found his footing, adjusted his swing and is receiving consistent playing time, the 30-year-old Davis believes he's not only still in his prime but peaking. The Giants aren’t shocked by the new and improved Davis the way the Mets might be. San Francisco is just happy he’s wearing orange and black rather than orange and blue. 

"We saw him with the Mets," Kapler said. "He was good against lefties, good against righties. Always dangerous and never wanted to face him. So, none of this is surprising at all." 

Especially to Davis.

Deesha Thosar is an MLB writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the Mets for three-and-a-half seasons as a beat reporter for the New York Daily News. The daughter of Indian immigrants, Deesha grew up on Long Island and now lives in Queens. She never misses a Rafael Nadal match, no matter what country or time zone he’s playing in. Follow her on Twitter at @DeeshaThosar.