Mets ship Davis to Pirates

Apr 18, 2014 - 11:16 PM Pittsburgh, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Ike Davis' turbulent tenure with the New York Mets has officially come to an end.

The Mets traded the struggling first baseman to the Pittsburgh Pirates on Friday in exchange for minor league pitcher Zack Thornton. New York will also receive a player to be named later as part of the deal.

Davis was once considered to be one of the Mets' up-and-coming stars after batting .264 with 19 home runs and 71 RBI during a promising rookie season in 2010. He finished fifth in the National League with 32 homers two years later, but hit just .227 with 141 strikeouts before enduring a highly disappointing 2013 campaign.

The former first-round pick's average dipped to .205 last season and he managed just nine homers in 317 at-bats, earning a demotion to Triple-A at midseason and ending the year on the disabled list due to an oblique injury.

Davis had been sharing time with Lucas Duda at first base this season, going 5-for-24 with one homer and five RBI in 12 games.

The 27-year-old should get more of an opportunity in Pittsburgh, where journeyman Travis Ishikawa has been serving as the regular first baseman and owns just a .212 average with three RBI in 14 games.

In 454 career major league games, Davis has recorded 68 homers, 224 RBI and a .241 average.

Thornton, who turns 26 in May, went 7-3 with a 2.63 ERA and five saves over 42 games at three minor-league levels last season. The right-hander has allowed one earned run over 7 1/3 innings in four relief appearances with Triple-A Indianapolis thus far in 2014.