Lucas Duda, First Base

Date of Birth: 2/3/1986
Birthplace: Riverside, California
College: University of Southern California
Nicknames: The Big Lebowski, The Dude

Lucas Duda, first baseman, was drafted in 2007 by the New York Mets. He played in the minor leagues for more than three seasons before making his first start in 2010 with the Mets. He played in just 29 games with the team that season.

In 2011, Duda played in 100 games with the Mets, splitting his time at first base and as a right fielder. That season, he batted .292 with 88 hits, 21 doubles, 10 home runs, and 50 RBIs. The following season, he played in 121 games and batted .239 with 96 hits, 15 doubles, 15 home runs, and 57 RBIs. In 2012, he was an outfielder for the Mets, playing primarily in right field.

Duda spent time on the DL and in the minor leagues in 2013. He played in 100 games with the Mets and batted just .223 with 71 hits, 16 doubles, and 15 home runs. His defensive time was split between left field (58 games) and first base (34 games). He finished the 2014 season with 130 hits, 27 doubles, 30 home runs, 92 RBIs, and a .253 batting average.

Duda played in 135 games with the Mets in 2015. He finished the season with 115 hits, a career high 33 doubles, 27 home runs, 73 RBIs, and a .244 batting average. As the Mets' first baseman in 129 games, he made 77 assists, 87 double plays, 1,039 putouts, and 3 errors. In postseason play, he had 11 hits, including 2 doubles and a home run, and 8 RBIs in 47 at-bats in 14 games.

Duda spent most of the 2016 season on the DL with a stress fracture in his lower back. He played in just 47 games with the Mets.

The Mets traded Duda to the Tampa Bay Rays on July 27, 2017. He finished the season with 92 hits, 28 doubles, 30 home runs, 64 RBIs, 135 strikeouts to 60 walks, and a .217 batting average in 75 games with the Mets and 52 games with the Rays. Defensively, as a first baseman in 93 games, he made 693 putouts and 4 errors.

Duda became a free agent on November 2, 2017. He signed with the Kansas City Royals on February 28, 2018. He was traded to the Atlanta Braves on August 29, 2018. He finished the 2018 season with 79 hits, 14 doubles, 14 home runs, 50 RBIs, 102 strikeouts to 28 walks, and a .241 batting average in 87 games with the Royals and 20 games with the Braves. As a first baseman in 63 games, he made 37 assists, 41 double plays, 515 putouts, and 3 errors. In the postseason, he had no hits in three at-bats in three games.

Duda elected free agency on October 29, 2018. He signed a minor league contract with the Minnesota Twins on February 9, 2019. He was released on March 20th. Two days later, he returned to the Royals on a minor league contract. The Royals released him on July 28, 2019. He signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves on August 2nd, and he was released less than a month later on August 26th. He played in just 39 games with the Royals in 2019, and he batted .171.

Duda hasn't played professional baseball since 2019.

Career batting statistics for Duda through 2019 include:

• 958 games played
• 741 hits
• 171 doubles
• 156 home runs
• 470 RBIs
• 879 strikeouts to 394 walks
• .239 batting average

Career fielding statistics for Duda at first base through 2019 include:

• 578 games played
• 309 assists
• 396 double plays
• 4,386 putouts
• 23 errors
• .995 fielding percentage

Sources for Information
Wikipedia - Lucas Duda
ESPN - Lucas Duda