Two-time home run king Chris Davis hits the free agent market for the first time, prior to his 30th birthday.
Strengths/Pros
Davis is the most prolific home run hitter in the game.Ā He led the Majors with 47 home runs this year, and also topped all hitters with 53 in 2013.Ā He has blasted 159 home runs since becoming a regular for the Orioles in 2012, most in baseball.Ā Looking at isolated power, Davis is second only to Bryce Harper this year and second only to Giancarlo Stanton among qualified hitters since 2012.Ā A left-handed hitter, Davis’ power carries over against same-side pitching.Ā From 2012-15, no left-handed hitter with at least 600 plate appearances against southpaws can boast of a higher isolated slugging percentage against lefty pitchers.Ā Davis’ power also extends to all fields, with some of the game’s best ISO figures on balls hit to center field and the opposite field.
Davis is a bona fide middle of the order monster in his prime.Ā Among free agents, only Yoenis Cespedes can compete with his power, but Cespedes has a less impressive track record as a hitter.Ā Davis is also selective at the plate, with a 12.5% walk rate that ranked 13th in baseball this year.
Davis is generally regarded as a solid defensive first baseman.Ā He was above average in the SABR Defensive Index this year and in UZR the last two years.Ā He also has a touch of versatility, in that he logged 253 1/3 innings in right field this year and 149 1/3 at third base in 2014.
Age is on Davis’ side, as he doesn’t turn 30 until March and is five months younger than Cespedes.Ā Davis has a good health record, as he hasn’t missed more than a week due to injury since missing 12 games with an oblique strain in early 2014.Ā He played in 160 games in each of the 2013 and ’15 seasons.
Weaknesses/Cons
All that power comes with tons of strikeouts, as you might expect.Ā Davis topped all of MLB with a 31.0% strikeout rate in 2015, and was also the game’s strikeout king in 2014 at 33.0%.Ā Strikeouts affect a player’s batting average, and Davis is hitting .256 since 2012.Ā Among those with at least 500 games played and 100 home runs since 2012, Davis’ batting average ranks 16th out of 19 players.Ā So sure, power is a tradeoff, but Edwin Encarnacion and David Ortiz have much higher batting averages (and hence, OBPs) in that time.
With Davis, the biggest elephant in the room is his abysmal 2014 campaign, in which he hit .196/.300/.404 in 525 plate appearances before his season ended with a suspension for his use of Adderall, for which he did not have a therapeutic use exemption.Ā Davis, who was initially diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in 2008, reportedly had an exemption for Adderall prior to the 2012 season.Ā Eduardo A. Encina’s report for the Baltimore Sun from last December says it is believed Davis did not have an exemption for 2012 or 2013, years in which he played well.Ā So at the least, Davis’ struggles in 2014 can’t be chalked up to ADHD medication, and he’s facing an 80-game suspension if he gets popped again.Ā Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports reported in February that Davis received an exemption for a different form of stimulant medicine, Vyvanse, for 2015.
Davis suffered an oblique strain in late April of 2014, which could perhaps be offered as a partial explanation for his struggles that year.Ā Otherwise, it’s difficult to say why his batting average on balls in play dropped all the way down to .242 that year.Ā The question a suitor will need to try to answer before locking Davis up is, “Will that happen again?Ā If so, how soon?”Ā Looking at some potential comparables, I find more good than bad, such as Carlos Delgado, David Ortiz, and even Jason Giambi.Ā It is possible for Davis to be a good investment over his age 30-35 seasons.
Davis will be subject to a qualifying offer, so signing him will require draft pick forfeiture.
Personal
Davis was born in Longview, Texas, and resides in Dallas with his wife and daughter in the offseason.Ā Chris’ nickname is Crush, a play on Kevin Costner’s character Crash Davis in Bull Durham.Ā ESPN’s Eddie Matz profiled Davis in 2013, revealing a devout southern Baptist with a goofy sense of humor and an affinity for pumping iron.Ā The article says Davis recommitted to his faith at a down point in his career, after the 2010 season.Ā After failing to make the Rangers out of Spring Training, Davis told his fiancĆ©e he would go to seminary and become a minister or youth pastor if Texas didn’t promote or trade him that year.Ā Davis did get the call, however, and was later traded to the Orioles with Tommy Hunter for Koji Uehara.
Market
The Orioles have expressed a desire to re-sign Davis, but I believe they’ll be outbid.Ā The Astros, Mariners, and Padres are a few speculative fits.Ā There are scenarios where the Angels, Marlins, or Giants could make a play.Ā A half-dozen additional teams could be added if you’re willing to stretch.Ā Still, first base doesn’t seem to be an in-demand position this winter, which goes hand-in-hand with the free agent market presenting few interesting alternatives at the position.Ā Davis’ competition might be more with Cespedes, at the top end of the big bat market.
Expected Contract
Though no established position player received a six-year contract last winter, two non-superstars received seven-year deals the previous winter: Jacoby Ellsbury and Shin-Soo Choo.Ā Both outfielders are represented by Scott Boras, as is Davis.Ā Like Davis, Ellsbury and Choo had off-years on their resumes and still reached seven years in free agency.Ā With Davis, I think it’s a matter of six or seven years.Ā It’s a close call, but one reason I lean toward six is slugging first base types are generally not thought to age well.Ā I’m pegging Davis for a six-year, $144MM deal.
Could Boras be able to market Davis as a solution at 3B for the Angels?
Aside from some potential bad blood with Arte, I don’t think anyone would sign Davis as a primary 3B.
Davis at third? That’s insane. Freese needs to get resigned.
Only way Davis works for the Angels is if they make Pujols and him flip between 1B & DH, which might be a great idea actually. Let CJ Cron figure out how to take a walk aka his “disease” š on some other team.
He is an adequate outfielder, if the Angels decide he’s worth pushing aside someone and can stomach adding yet another 9-figure contract to the payroll.
It had to be asked as I’ve seen him occasionally play 3B. Thanks guys!
Davis will find a difficult market this offseason, as he and Boras overprice his talent. At the end of the day my guess is he heads north of the border, signing with Toronto, who uses their savings from being unable to resign Price and instead replace Encarnacion with a left-handed bat to balance out the lineup a little better.
The Jays would have to be willing to break their five-year contract rule for him, I think.
Thought that five-year rule only applied to pitchers? In any case if they’re going to be players in free agencyāeither to retain Price, go after another high-profile pitcher, or sign Davisāthey’re going to have to break that 5-year rule nonetheless. Besides, those rules seemed to get broken whenever a team is close to winning and they throw it all in.
Not sure, but here’s Boras’ take on it:
sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/boras-rips-blue-jays-fiv…
Boras is right. In order to retain elite talent, you need to be able to spend the cash and years to do so.
The 5 year deal policy dies with Paul Beeston leaving the front office, Anthopoulos hinted being hindered in trying to sign some free agents by lack of length numerous times, specifically pointing to the rumored Anibal Sanchez negotiations as someone Beeston stepped in on and interfered on years.
After this season ends, the Jays have almost no starting rotation to speak of. At the moment it appears Price, Buehrle and Estrada are gone. Hutchison looked very sketchy at times this season — and that might be a generous description. Who knows where things stand with Dickey? Right now it would seem that the only somewhat reliable rotation arm for 2016 is Stroman who missed five months of 2015 and you want the Jays to pump $25 mil a year into Davis? I don’t think so.
I don’t “want” the Jays to pump $25M per year into Davis; frankly, I don’t care what they do as I’m not a Toronto fan at all..just think it makes sense in the way they’ve constructed their roster to target Davis and let Encarnacion go. They’re similar players offensively, but Davis bats left-handed, something Toronto lacks.
For one, they don’t need to replace Encarnacion as he’s got an option for 2016, as does Bautista. If they want to spend $100MM+ on one guy this offseason, it should be Price, even though he should be closer to $200MM.
I believe the thought was more of a long-term replacement, since Davis might be in more of his prime years after 2016 than they will be.
My rationale is that the Blue Jays are not going to be able to resign Price…he’s out of their range. Someone will pay $220-$250 to sign him and Toronto will not pay that. At this point Davis and Encarnacion are similar players, with Davis probably a little better, and left-handed. He’s a good alternative for both the short and long-term in Toronto.
Could the Redsox or Yankees decide to unload Hanley or Texeria and make a play at Davis?
Who would take either one?
The same person who would be willing to offer 100m-144m for Davis maybe??
I can’t see any deal for Davis over 100m looking like anything but a disaster after the 2nd.. Maybe 3rd year, if not immediately. Too many warning signs there. Another glorified Mark Reynolds, Chris Carter type someone is going to buy the hype on and massively overpay.
I don’t expect either team to sign Davis, but both are within the realm of possibility. I think Carlos Beltran might be a bit more reasonable for the Yankees to unload than Tex. Davis would have to be penciled in as the primary right fielder, jumping in at 1B and DH when A-Rod and Tex needed days off or get hurt.
Red Sox could definitely unload Hanley, but signing a new huge FA deal right after eating money to do so seems a long shot, especially with bigger needs on the pitching staff.
“Red Sox could definitely unload Hanley.”
What makes you say that and what would it take to unload Hanley?
Billy Butler got 3/30mil. Hanley is owed 3/66mil. If Hanley were a DH on the open market, he’d probably get around 3/45mil.
So the RS would have to eat about 20mil to unload him, I would think. Hanley’s only signed for 3 years which makes him far easier to unload than say, someone like Choo who signed for 7 years through his aged 38 season.
Greg Bird is really, really good though. No need at all for Davis on the Yankees.
And you’ve got Aaron Judge on the way to take over RF if all goes well.
Cardinals might get involved if they aren’t able to resign Heyward and feel Adams isn’t good enough and/or Piscotty is more suitable in the OF. Question is would they do it? They definitely have the payroll capacity to do it, but historically they don’t like shelling out 20+ Million a year for a player.
Yeah he’s not a Cardinal type for the money he will want
I wish they would. I like Heyward but the Cardinals need a big bat more than a big glove at this point.
The problem with Davis is when he is good, he is very good …but when he is bad, he is really bad. In any given year he can lead the league in SO’s and HR’s. That sounds like a recipe to get a GM fired to me. If he could find some consistency on the good side, I think he easily gets 6/$150 but his historic numbers don’t warrant that kind of payday.
My ideas:
1. Miami: They don’t really have a longterm 1B unless they really believe in Bour, but Loria might feel that pairing Crush and Gaincarlo together too good an idea to pass up and could trade Bour somewhere else while his value is decently high. He might be a DH-type in the long run.
2. Seattle: The really obvious pick, stacking Davis with Cruz & Cano gives them a deadly 3-4-5.
3. Oakland: The power-strapped A’s who don’t have a longterm 1B option yet – Matt Olson had a down year – might decide to get in the mix for him and have him DH the latter part of his deal if Olson does break out.
4. Rockies: Talking about “ideas too good to pass up” – Crush in Colorado? 60+ bombs on deck.
5. Cardinals: An interesting idea too, Davis is an upgrade over Adams and won’t cost as much as Heyward, who STL doesn’t really need as badly due to their wealth of OFs.
I don’t like Houston as a landing spot, as AJ Reed looms large on the horizon and they need starting pitching more than anything. I think SD would have to wildly overpay to get him to go there, we’re talking $180M+ here.
Oakland has never signed a player for over 70 million. You think they will go after Davis?
Is that a hard and fast rule that Oakland doesn’t spend $70M+ or is it just that they haven’t?
They have never signed a player for more then 66 million. They are known as a tight pursed team. It would be very doubtful that they would all of a sudden give well over a 100 million to a player with no connection to them. Chris Davis doesn’t scream Oakland to me. That would be a very shocking and unlikely outcome.Pretty much all the ideas listed are doubtful. Colorado for instance, would probably go after an ace if they were going to spend that much money, and they probably wont.
“They are known as a tight pursed team.” – who spent $30M on a declining Billy Butler and $6M on Hiroyuki Nakajima to never play one game for them. They have one of the most wealthy ownership groups in MLB, but adding in a 100 mill contract to a sub-par stadium that’s difficult to repeatedly sell out will prevent the franchise from turning a profit, which a team with no tv deal needs to do to appease its owners. Its a business, they need to turn a profit first and foremost. Are they at the point to where they can add a player who can get more people to come to games? Absolutely, and it’s ALWAYS been this way – they have made offers to plenty of stars over the last 5 years, including Chase Headley last year. Its not “all of a sudden” you just aren’t paying attention.
BTW the enire “Moneyball” narrative doesn’t exist if Giambi takes the A’s 6 year deal at the exact same money the Yankees offered. They refused to give him that 7th option year, so he went there. The entire narrative and book and film is based off a single option year, have a nice day.
The ownership group may be wealthy but that does not mean they are going to put billions into a team that is not making profit. Your whole thing about profits just supports my ( and pretty much everyone who watches baseballs) point of view.. You are calling 30 million a huge commitment in 2015? Thats peanuts over a three year deal. It was also widely panned.
What offeres are you talking about? Also once again Headley is not in the same class as Davis.How many fans does Chris Davis get to games? How many fans did a winning team and superstars like Price and Longo get the Rays? Oakland is not going to put 30-40% percent of their payroll into Davis. How about you stop pretending to be an expert on things you are clearly no nothing of and you have a nice day?
None of those teams you mentioned can fill all their holes plus afford Davis
Disagree, every team can afford a $150M contract. Its MLB not little league.
Most teams can afford a $150M contract, not all. And even if all could afford to sign a player to that contract, for most it would inhibit them from doing other things. Sure, the Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sex, Phillies, Angels, etc., can spend $25M on one player and then turn around and spend another $125M on other players, but teams like the A’s, Rockies, Padres, etc. cannot do that. They could afford to sign the contract but then would not be able to fill the roster with other quality.
Do you even watch baseball? Not every team can afford 150M contract. There is lots of overhead, baseball is a business. They can’t all boast thier payrolls to the levels the Red Sox, Dodgers, Yankees do.
Except that with their payrolls, Miamj and Oakland are probably out of the running. Could you really see Beane spending 150mil on anyone?
Yes, and he has tried to for many years. Hitters refuse to come to Oakland due to it being a pitchers park, and because of that, low ceiling pitchers are easily made out to look better than they are there.
Hitters, pitchers, mascots, anything..will go wherever the MONEY is. If Beane/Oakland offered players the money they got elsewhere, they’d be in Oakland. They haven’t and won’t.
Can you cite one article that says Beane has been a real player for a player in the $150 million range? The biggest contract in A’s history dates from 2004 and is under 70 million. Do you think the A’s are going to raise payroll that much to have Davis?
Even though the Padres could use him pretty badly.. Don’t see them meeting his price tag. I’d guess only way they’d swoop in is if it was late in off-season and his price tag dropped some.
How are the Mariners not a stretch with the amount of long term money they have on the books?
Well, they’re in win now mode and dont have much coming up from the farm. With Cano, Seager, Cruz, and Hernandez all in their primes I could think they’d be open to signing Davis if it meant being competitve now.
Hard to commit $100+ mil for 4-5 years to “win now”. They need to go out and sign 2 obp guys to bat in that order.
Davis is a OBP guy.
That team would be very good with Davis in the lineup. I do wonder if they’d be better off going with a right-handed bat? That lineup is very left-handed.
Cano (L), Cruz (R), Davis (L), and Seager (L) would make for a great lineup. But you are right, it is very left handed. Would need to complement with right-handed outfielders. Dexter Fowler would be great but I see him staying in Chicago.
Seattle doesn’t have the much long-term money on the books; Cano forever, Felix for a few more years and 3 years left on Cruz. Their long-term outlook isn’t terrible. I think they’d be more gun shy giving out considerable years, not money at this point, considering how Cano projects forward.
The market for Davis will be a lot smaller than some would like you to believe. Start by eliminating all the teams that have a 1B already in place (D’backs, Braves, BoSox, Cubs, ChiSox, Reds, Indians, Tigers, Angels, Dodgers, Twins, Mets, Yanks, Phillies, Cards, Giants, Rangers, Jays & Nats). Further eliminate the teams who have never shown a willingness to pay that kind of scratch on the open market for a slugging 1B (Royals, Marlins, Brewers, Athletics, Pirates & Rays). Unless one of those teams makes a major move to free up cash and a position you’re left with the Rockies, Astros, Padres, Mariners and Orioles.
I dont think thats a great way to view his market. The Redsox could very well be in on Davis if they dont think Hanley can handle 1B. The Whitesox need offense and could sign Davis for 1B and move Abreu to DH. Likewise with the Angels and Pujols. The Cardinals could look to upgrade their meh situation of Adams/Moss. The Nats could look to upgrade their 1B situation and unload Ryan Zim. The Marlins, Pirates, or Rays could shock everyone a sign Davis, they clearly have the need.
I dont think you can just scratch off all these teams that “could” be interested in him. He’s the ML leader in home runs and has more power than just about anyone. He’s someone you make room for.
I wouldn’t consider the Rockies much of a contender here. I agree with your general point regarding teams with money and a 1B opening seeming scarce. Still, the vibe was similar around Prince Fielder and he got paid. Plus, the Marlins have shown that willingness before with their offer to Pujols, and several of the teams you ruled out could certainly see fit to move around some pieces.
Other teams get into the mix but only if they make moves to clear a position or salary money. You can’t guess who’s able to do that at this time with any reliability.
I will bet anyone $100 that Davis doesn’t get $144M and a $20 side bet that he doesn’t get 6 years. There is no team with the need for him that has that kind of money to throw around
Can I take that bet
I think that at 6/144 the O’s might be in the mix. It’s a lot, but it’s not 8/200 which fans around here were speculating due to the Borashness of his representation. My pipe dream is to let Wieters and Chen go, resign Davis, Parra, and O’Day, add Gordon and Gallardo, then lock up Machado and Schoop to long term contracts. It’s an awful lot of money for the O’s to spend, and it’s been more than 10 years since the O’s added multiple high priced talent in the same year (Tejada, Lopez, Palmiero in ’04), but even if it is a good business decision to let Davis go there will be a fan revolt if they do after letting Cruz and Markakis go last year. Again, those were good business decisions but the fans in this market are tired of business decisions taking priority over fielding a team able to compete for the division title, especially with the perception locally that Angelos is sitting on MASN money and not using it.
Don’t quite see the scenario for the Giants. Would have to include flipping Belt for a starter as I can’t either one of the two being a long term answer in LF. Plus power numbers would fade in new home park and as he ages. Only way it could work is if they get a decent young starter with at least a couple of years control for Belt.
Davis is probably the most interesting case in a long time for position players. The guy has so much power, maybe the most in the majors, but with that said he’s also one of the most 3 true outcome players currently in the majors. I can see him signing with just about any team for the obvious reasons that his power plays everywhere and he does that while providing above average defense at 1B with the ability to move around at both RF/LF and 3B.
My Favorites:
1) Seattle: There’s no chance that Seattle isn’t going to try and take advantage of having Cruz posting the best WRC+(158) for Seattle going all the way back to 2000 when a guy named Alex Rodriguez(158) was still on the team. Cano and Seager aren’t bad pieces either, oh and they have a guy named Felix Hernandez who had a down year, he’s pretty good. Non-Tendering Trumbo and Morrison helps pay some of this one.
2) Houston: He’s from Texas and this team does have enough talent and little payroll obligations to sign him and compete again in 2016. Let’s also not forget he’s basically the prototype position player that we think of that plays for Houston, he’d fit in perfectly.
3) Cardinals: They rarely sign high priced free agents but this is a guy would give them a much needed power boost without sacrificing that important “Cardinals Way” of playing good defense.
Great explanations. Clear and concise. I can see Davis as a Cardinal and the Cardinals trading away Matt Adams. He’d put a real charge to their lineup, but they seem to be a sabermetrics teams and might not like Davis’s high BABIP.
AJ Reed says Houston won’t go after Davis.
Baltimore seems like the best fit; eliminating teams above leaves: Boston – possible; Houston – very unlikely, Miami, Oakland and Colorado won’t spend the money. Only Baltimore makes sense unless we see some wheeling and dealing.
Explain why Oakland won’t spend the money without referencing how the team was run in 2002.
Seriously? The three biggest free agent signings by Oakland during the entire Billy Beane era are Coco Crisp at 2 yrs/$14 mil, Billy Butler at 3 yrs/$30 mil and Yoenis Cespedes at 4 yrs/$36 mil. Nobody in their right mind would expect or even speculate that the Athletics would be bidding on a guy expected to sign a contract in the neighborhood of 5-6 years averaging $22-25 mil a season. The payroll for the entire Athletics roster hasn’t exceeded $85 million a single time in their history and now you think they’ll drop $25 mil on one hitter in a single season? I’ll go out on a limb and say the A’s are out of the bidding.
CD will be out of Baltimore and good riddens. I’m sympathetic to anyone with a form of ADHD but after last year’s crucial suspension, and the uncertainty regarding his future TUE’s and his horrible chewing tobacco habit, there are numerous question marks in this O’s fan’s CD history. Let some sucker throw him 150-200MM and see what happens. The new drug Ken R. mentioned still is an amphetamine and I personally didn’t like his bogus excuses after getting caught and suspended before the playoffs last year!
Tobacco is an addictive substance. Those who are addicted aren’t immoral, in my view. Davis sounds about as up front and honest about it as one could want, and hopefully he’ll be able to beat the addiction. eutawstreetreport.com/chris-davis-id-like-to-give-…
Of course it’s an addiction. As are amphetimines. My point with dipping is it’s not something that children need to be exposed to. I hope he get’s both addiction’s under control but as far as the cancer causing dip, keep it off the field.
As an O’s fan I’d be shocked if any of the big 3 Boras guys are resigned. Along with CD and the ADHD TUE question mark, Wieters is history along with Chen. I personally could see Davis in Seattle. He will command a 150-200MM, 6-7 year contract which to me is crazy. I would want to be sure of his TUE status first which is unlikely and then it’s still way too much. He had a huge ’13, 1st half and ’15 second half. And his ’14 numbers and suspension really hurt the O’s. Tons of insignificant homers and significant strikeouts.
I honestly believed Scott Coolbaugh was mostly brought in for CD in ’15. And he seemed to help Chris along with the meds. The fact that Coolbaugh was resigned surprised me. The O’s need to boost their OBP dramatically along with obtaining 2 “capable” starters. Can’t do that and resign the Boras 3.
I thought it was ADD he has not ADHD? 2 different diagnosis, yes? 1B is where he belongs. Boras is bad for baseball fans. Driving up my ticket and cable prices. Anyhow back to Davis. He has streaks of HR’s and streaks where he hits 190 with many K’s. Anyone who pays more than 20 mil a season is kidding themselves. I dont see him going anywhere that is not a HR friendly ballpark. Camden Yards is perfect for Davis but 20 million may hinder them from gaining other free agents. Its a lose lose situation for Baltimore. Houston may be the landing spot for Davis. He is from Texas but hey if your making 20 mil+ a season you can fly your family 1st class for the next million years and stay in a luxury sweet anywhere in the 28 cities in the MLB. As mentioned his ADD may hinder him from landing in a city like NY and maybe Boston.
ADD is an outdated term. I know, I’ve had to get used to the new terminology. The condition is now called ADHD. It includes concentration issues, impulsiveness, etc… I was diagnosed many years ago and even though the official terminology changed in 2013, by the American Psychiatric Assn. and on my prescriptions they put ADHD. So no one diagnosis. ADD is part of ADHD.
Are the Padres a realistic possibility to sign Davis? Or were you just listing them based on needs, disregarding other factors?
The Padres have a lot of areas of concern, signing Davis isn’t going to be a turnaround move when you got guys like Jedd Gyorko penciled in as your everyday shortstop.
Justin Upton(4.4bWAR) leaving is going to be a hindrance as he was the only position player on the Padres to put up over 3bWAR. Derek Norris being an above average offensive catcher put up the next highest WAR number at 2.5.
They should focus on signing some under the radar guys like say Steve Pearce who’s remarkably hit 36 homers over his last 708PA’s and hope he can have a rebound season.
For the most part the Padres should just blowup their aging core because it’s going to be nearly impossible to compete with the Dodgers and Giants in their division and the Wildcard spots likely taken by 2 of the 3 NL Central teams.
I don’t think they can afford him.
Why is Seattle listed as a favorite? Granted, 1B isn’t a strength for Seattle, but it isn’t as glaring a weakness as the outfield, back end of the rotation, and the back end of the bullpen. Each of those areas needs to be addressed prior to 1B.
1B seems like a luxury that Dipoto could address after each of those. Trumbo started poorly after the trade to Seattle, but triple-slashed .295/.351/.479 since the beginning of July, good for a 132 wRC+. That’s a reasonable approximation of the production that Davis could put up for a fraction of the cost, and without the lengthy commitment.
Call me skeptical, but I don’t believe that Dipoto would blow a significant portion of his budget for a half-step up at 1B, when there are bigger holes (e.g., outfield) that can be filled more cost-effectively. This year’s class is deep at OF; what sense does it make to throw money at Davis that could also be thrown at, say, Cespedes, when the latter also provides the benefit of playing a position of more need for Seattle. Especially given Seattle’s already-significant financial commitments to Cano, Felix, Cruz, and Seager.
Davis was basically a 6 WAR player last season. LoMo, Montero, Trumbo & Romero combined for 0.5 WAR. Its absolutely not a “half step up” its 6 steps up. You are getting a game-changing all-star in place of an actual scrub who shouldn’t even be playing everyday. Please get your facts straight.
Davis was a 5.2 WAR (baseball ref’s number) or 5.6 (fangraphs number) player last year…