The Athletics have held at least exploratory talks about multi-year deals with both shortstop Marcus Semien and outfielder Khris Davis, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The club discussed an extension of up to five years with Semien during the offseason, though the shortstop tells Slusser that the two sides haven’t revisited talks since the spring.
Semien is open to revisiting negotiations, though he acknowledged that he isn’t sure if the A’s feel the same in the wake of his rough 2017 season. The shortstop missed almost three months due to wrist surgery, and he has hit just .151/.300/.247 in 90 plate appearances. There’s still obviously quite a bit of time for Semien to get back on track this year, not to mention the fact that some extra recovery time is usually needed in the case of wrist injuries.
Semien, who turns 27 in September, hit 27 homers last season but posted just a .238/.300/.435 slash line over 621 PA, making him an exactly league-average hitter (100) as per both the OPS+ and wRC+ metrics. Semien has below-average defensive metrics at shortstop over his career, and there has long been speculation whether he has enough glove to remain at short, or if a move to second base is in the cards once Oakland permanently calls up prospect Franklin Barreto.
In either case, the extension talks would seem to hint that the A’s indeed see Semien as part of their future in the middle infield. Had a five-year extension been reached last winter, it would have covered Semien’s final pre-arbitration season, his three arb years and his first free agent season. Unless Semien can turn things around at the plate over the final two-plus months of 2017, his lack of production will certainly hurt his first arbitration number, which could mean a lower price tag for an extension on the Athletics’ part, if the club is indeed still interested.
A Davis extension, meanwhile, would be a much costlier investment, as the left fielder is putting up another big power season — 27 homers and a .246/.334/.526 slash line through his first 392 PA, putting Davis on pace to match or surpass his career-high total of 42 home runs in 2016. Despite that prodigious amount of power, Davis is also prone to strikeouts and is a defensive liability in left field, so the A’s could have concerns about how he’ll age (Davis turns 30 in December) over the course of a long-term contract.
Davis is earning $5MM this season and is in line for a nice raise in his second time through the arbitration process this winter. Slusser says that the A’s just “briefly talked” with Davis about a long-term contract, so it would seem that more in-depth negotiations have yet to take place.
Usually, the rising cost of a player like Davis would lead to speculation that the low-payroll Athletics would be exploring trade options. While the A’s have again looked to move veterans this summer (such names as Sonny Gray and Yonder Alonso are trade candidates and Oakland has already moved Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle to the Nationals), executive VP of baseball ops Billy Beane recently stated that the team is hoping to get past this trend of constant player turnover and start locking in some key players to multi-year deals. Since this latest rebuild effort is tied to the Athletics’ still-unsettled quest to get a new ballpark, however, it remains to be seen if the timeline will match up so that Semien and Davis would be part of his first wave of long-term talent, or if they could eventually be the last members of the current generation of players dealt.
A'sfaninUK
Both are absolutely horrible long-term signs. They should be trying to trade both, not extend them. Healy is basically Billy Butler Jr too, these no-glove types are the ones the A’s need to be moving on from, not extending.
I really can’t stand how fans immediately cotton onto “locals” or “guys who say they love playing on this team” – 99% of players are going to love playing anywhere! Healy is trash, Semien is SUPERtrash and Davis is a full time DH who’s peripheral stats are getting better every year. None of them are crucial to the rebuild or future of the team, and I’m not sure Beane and Forst have any clue how to build a contender from any other method of “throw things at wall and see if they stick”.
JK 4
How is your fantasy team doing?
A'sfaninUK
1st place!
Chucky25
I agree Semien,and Davis are better off being traded,Healy I have no issues with,as a part-time 1st baseman ,but we can’t keep both Davis and Healy and I think we should just cut Casilla and eat his salary and go with Wahl as the closer once he’s healthy,and yes he could struggle but would rather struggle with the young guy than Casilla
A'sfaninUK
Healy offers nothing other than being a guy who’s going to hit .280 with power. He can’t draw walks to save his life and is slow, bad at defense and eventually his bodytype is going to be Billy Butler-ized. At most he’s a 1.5 WAR guy – he’s currently 0.0 fWAR right now after 90 games.
Chucky25
and Davis is slow,with a shaky glove,only homers,or strikes out has no arm and can be run on all day long,so I can live with Healy,until someone better comes along,but I see what you’re saying
greenarrow1150
did you really just say butler and Healy are the same?…lol first you’re drunk, and second when has billy ever played 3B… oh yeahhh never lol
jsloan
Why?
the.sophisticant
they cut all my stuff about Semien. can i say “i like Semien?’