Khris Davis has won his arbitration hearing against the Athletics, reports Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports (via Twitter). As a result, the Oakland left fielder/designated hitter will earn $5MM instead of the $4.65MM figure submitted by the team. Davis is represented by Octagon.
The 29-year-old Davis, acquired in a trade with the Brewers last offseason, had a breakout campaign at the plate with the A’s in 2016, hitting .247/.307/.524 with a career-best 42 home runs. That gaudy home run total undoubtedly aided Davis’ case, as did the fact that he set new career-highs in games played (150), plate appearances (610) and RBIs (102). Ultimately, his $5MM salary ends up as an exact match with the projection of MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz.
This marked the first trip through the arbitration process for Davis, who remains controlled for another three seasons. He’ll be eligible for arbitration twice more before qualifying as a free agent upon completion of the 2019 campaign. Davis was the last remaining arbitration case for the A’s, who have now determined salaries for all five of their arb-eligible players (MLBTR Arb Tracker link).
AidanVega123
Good, he deserves it
sugoi51
Good for Davis, but I doubt that the A’s are bummed. They are still getting a good deal for him.
A'sfaninUK
They potentially will be bummed because if he hits 40 bombs again arbitration will say he will be worth $10M in 2018, because they love homers so much. The lower the 2017 amount, the lower the ’18 amount.
bwick17
still worth more than 10 mil dude is a beast
McGlynnandjuice
He’s not worth much more than $10m aav
Dookie Howser, MD
The A’s would non-tender him so fast if they couldn’t trade him first.
jd396
That’s all true except for the fact that a $350,000 difference this year is going to have a negligible effect compared to whatever his performance turns out to be in 2017.
JoeyPankake
Billy better trade him to save that 350 grand.
daveinmp
David Stearns biggest mistake as Brewer GM so far was trading Davis away. Not so much that he was traded but the return for one of the premier power bats in the game was far short of impressive. Anyone who’d seen Davis in 2015 knew if he stayed healthy a full year that he’d put up those kind of numbers.
Brixton
Nottingham was supposed to be a top flight catcher prospect, and Khris Davis still isn’t all that good, hes a nice piece, but far from a star
hamelin4mvp
It’s true – look at how many hitters are still on the FA market just like Davis. I enjoyed watching him play in Milwaukee, but I see a lot of Davis clones still sitting without jobs right now. Nottingham probably won’t turn out to be what Stearns thought, though.
daveinmp
I see Davis as a younger version of Encarnacion. Not sure what you are seeing.
aff10
Maybe power-wise, but his strikeout and walk profiles aren’t anywhere close. He’s good, but not a star unless he figures out how to get on base a little bit more
astros_fan_84
Davis’ team in arbitration: “MLBTR projects us for $5M. We’re asking for $5M.”
Davis makes $5M in 2017.
Do the teams notice?
sfgiants49ers
Ah man i liked this guy in breweres team, i Lways thought the A’s won on the deal. Guy always showed promising power. Now hes proven himself in both league NL and AL.
jmgara
Why go through the hearing process over $350,000 on this day and age?
zacharydmanprin
The A’s could have Chris Carter hit 40 HR for the league minimum. Davis is a below average fielder and he doesn’t get on base enough. It’s nice for fantasy baseball owners…
Jerry Maguire
I believe if memory stands me right, this is the first arbitration case that Billy Beane has lost…wow!