The Milwaukee Brewers were close to acquiring first baseman Ike Davis from the New York Mets before they backed off from the talks, primarily because of their unwillingness to give up their pitching, a source close to situation reported on Tuesday.

According to Mets beat writer Chris Strohmaier of SB Nation, the Brewers could have hammered the deal with the Mets and acquired Davis before they made a U-turn in the end.

"In a talk with the media today, Brewers' general manager Doug Melvin suggested that, although the Mets and Brewers are still talking about Ike Davis, there has been no agreement in what should be exchanged for the Mets' beleaguered first baseman," via SB Nation.

Melvin stressed that they don't want to sacrifice their pitching, despite the possibility of infusing a solid all-around slugger into their lineup. According to sources, the Mets were asking the Brewers for a top pitching prospect as compensation for Davis, who is a career .242 hitter with 67 homers and 219 RBIs.

"I think we've pretty well stood by - the one thing we've done - is we do not want to give up pitching," Melvin told reporters during Monday's media day.

Not Seeing Eye-to-Eye

Melvin confirmed talks with the Brewers regarding Davis are not dead yet, though he admitted they are far apart on the asking price.

"We haven't gotten to anything where we're comfortable with the deal from our side, and he's not been comfortable with the deal from his side," the Brewers general manager added.

According to Strohmaier, Melvin's insistence not to trade away some of their pitching prospect for Davis could put the Brewers in a not-so-ideal position, given the team seems not inclined to see Juan Francisco starting at first baseman next year.  

"Melvin could be in a bad spot, however, as the Brewers seem to not want to go into the year with Juan Francisco as the club's starting first baseman, and most other first base options have been taken off the board," the baseball analyst said.