A natural option would be to trade Duda to an American League team where he can serve as a primary designated hitter. The problem the Mets may be running to is the fact that Duda is very unlikely to command enough of a return that would make a trade worthwhile for the Mets. Simply flipping Duda for a need in another area is not as easy as it seems. Duda has struggled this season, hitting just .228, 15, 33 and has been invisible with runners in scoring position. After finishing with a triple slash line of .292, .370, .482 in his time in 2011, he has failed to come close to duplicating those numbers. Of course, not only are the Mets aware of this, but so is every other team in major league baseball.
One thing Duda does have going for him is his eye at the plate. Critics have said Duda has been too selective on occasions, but the fact is that he does see his share of pitches at the plate. In 2011, Duda had 33 walks with 301 official at bats. As of the time of this article, he has drawn 52 walks in 303 official at bat in 2013. While his batting average has dropped from .292 to .228 from 2011 to 2013, his on base percentage has only dropped from .370 to .350 in the same two seasons.
The Oakland Athletics continue to implement the ideas of "moneyball" as they construct their team. Those ideas consist of adding players with high on base percentage as well as players that not expected to get paid a lot because they are undervalued. Duda should be on the team's radar because of his on base percentage and the fact that he is not arbitration eligible until after next season. The Athletics will probably be looking for an everyday DH, which makes Duda a perfect fit. The question is, do the Athletics and Billy Beane value Duda enough to part with something the Mets can use? Perhaps OF Michael Taylor would be enough to get a deal like this done. That could happen if Beane values Duda the way I think he may. If not, the Mets may have to decide whether to take a couple lower level minor leaguer instead or hold on to Duda. One thing is for certain, Duda definitely fits the Scott Hatteberg qualifications for a moneyball type player.