The Giants have placed third baseman J.D. Davis on waivers, FanSided’s Robert Murray writes (via X). The move comes just a week after San Francisco signed Matt Chapman, which seemed to make Davis an odd man out in the team’s corner infield picture.
With Chapman now at third base, Jorge Soler at DH, and LaMonte Wade Jr. and Wilmer Flores slated as a platoon tandem at first base, there wasn’t much room for Davis to find everyday playing time, making him something of an overqualified bench piece. Chapman’s contract came after months of speculation that he would eventually land in San Francisco to re-unite with his former manager Bob Melvin, so really, trade rumors have been surrounding Davis for much of the offseason.
The waiver-wire move indicates that a trade couldn’t be found, yet that doesn’t mean that there isn’t interest in Davis’ services. It could be that rival clubs weren’t willing to meet whatever asking price Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi was seeking, and were content to wait and see if Davis would just end up available to be claimed. By that same logic, it seems possible that Davis might also clear waivers entirely if no team wants to assume the $6.9MM salary he is owed for the 2024 season, after an arbitration panel ruled in Davis’ favor at a hearing last month.
The fact that Davis went to a hearing provides an interesting wrinkle to his salary situation, as per the terms of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. Salaries for arbitration-eligible players are not fully guaranteed until they make the Opening Day roster, or (as noted by Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area) unless they agree to a salary without going to a hearing — your standard “team and player have avoided arbitration” situation.
However, in going to a hearing, Davis could be subject to the CBA clause stating that San Francisco can part ways with him for a prorated portion of his $6.9MM salary. That prorated sum will be 30 days’ worth of termination pay if Davis is released earlier than 16 days prior to the start of the Giants’ season (their first game is on March 28), and 45 days’ worth of pay if he is released after that 16-day checkpoint. Davis might well have grounds for a grievance if the Giants try this tactic, as he has been tearing it up at the plate in Spring Training, and could therefore argue that he isn’t being released “for failure to exhibit sufficient skill or competitive ability,” as detailed in the CBA wording.
Barring a potential grievance, the Giants would save roughly $5.793MM by releasing Davis before the 16-day threshold. It isn’t an insignificant sum, especially for a team that is approaching luxury tax status. RosterResource projects the Giants for a tax number of just under $231.3MM, leaving the club with only a little breathing room before hitting the $237MM tax line. Given how the Giants have pursued several high-salaried stars in recent years, paying the tax altogether probably isn’t seen as a huge barrier for ownership or the front office, yet naturally the team would ideally like to pay as little tax as possible. San Francisco could potentially still be adding another big salary to the ledger before Opening Day, as the Giants remain linked to top starters Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery on the rumor mill.
Davis hit .248/.325/.413 with 18 homers over 546 plate appearances with San Francisco in 2023, as hot starts and finishes to the season bookended a pretty severe slump over the summer months. The offensive production translated to a 104 wRC+, which is drop from the 118 wRC+ Davis posted over his first six MLB seasons with the Astros, Mets, and Giants.
While Davis’ bat has long been pretty solid, he has been something of a man without a defensive position. The public metrics give him decent grades over 287 2/3 innings as a first baseman, though Davis’ work at third base has generally been considered subpar. His 2023 performance drew at least mixed reviews, as Outs Above Average (+5) and UZR/150 (+0.8) had a positive view of his third base glovework, while the Defensive Runs Saved (-11) metric was much less impressed.
On paper, the Cubs, Brewers, Blue Jays, Rays, Nationals, Rangers, Guardians, Mariners, White Sox, Athletics, and Padres are teams that all have clear or hypothetical needs at either corner infield position or at DH, so any could potentially fit as Davis’ next landing spot. Even a relatively modest $6.9MM salary could provide an obstacle in some of these situations, and the presence of such other free agents (such as J.D. Martinez, Brandon Belt, or Evan Longoria) who could fill at least one of Davis’ positions might further complicate his market.
They couldn’t have found a trade partner for him?
They must have tried and failed to trade him
Collateral damage of present arbitration rules. Maybe JD Davis overplayed his hand as if accepted the team’s offer, he’d be paid in full. Let’s see what his next deal + the prorated portion equals.
Farhan playing 4D chess. Arbitration salaries are not guaranteed until opening day! I was wondering why he went to arb over 600k that was 10%. He knew the whole time it didn’t matter as long as the arbitration set the salary he had a backup
Chapman not getting a longer deal elsewhere screwed Davis. More players may reassess getting every last penny when you’re not a superstar.
This has got to be hard for JD to swallow. As someone who watched him all season, he gave the Giants terrific value, both with his bat and (until the last couple months of the season) his glove.
I never wanted Chapman, but as his cost dropped, at least the Giants are paying a fair market value for him. But I feel for Davis because his performance doesn’t deserve this. I hope he lands a full-time spot and proves he’s an every day player.
Terrific?
I see a Rendon insurance policy here (after clearing waivers).
That’s wild, I know
Id bet his near 7 million contract for 2024 had something to do with the lack of trade interest
Well, whoever claims him will have to pay that 7 million contract.
He will go unclaimed.
@rescue whoever claims him would have to pay his contract, but they wouldn’t have to give up any prospects at all.
Though there’s also a small chance he goes unclaimed. I’d guess he’s likely claimed by someone who has plenty of playing time for him at third base. But it’s likely that nobody wanted to pay him the salary AND give up players to send back.
He goes unclaimed and then will negotiate. No one is paying JD Davis that kind of money at this stage of ST.
Unless he is claimed the Giants owe him $6.9 million.
If he goes unclaimed and then signs with someone they owe him the league minimum and the Giants pick up the difference
It sounds like they talked it over with him and they agreed this would be the best way so he could pick where he goes
Not true. He wasn’t DFA’d. They don’t need to release him. If he rejects the outright assignment to AAA, he becomes a FA and the Giants owe him nothing.
That’s not true. He won his arbitration hearing so that $6.9M one-year contract is binding. Even if he hadn’t won it, the arbitration decision would have been binding for the Giants’ figure. The only way they would have avoided it is if they didn’t tender him.
@ Jean Matrac You are mistaken here: Davis has more than five years of MLB service time. As such, he has the right to has the reject any minor league assignment, and the Giants will be on the hook for the money.
per MLB.com:
“If Davis goes unclaimed, the Giants could potentially release him and only be on the hook for a prorated portion of his salary. Because Davis beat the Giants in an arbitration hearing last month, his full salary is not guaranteed under the current rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
mlb.com/news/jd-davis-on-waivers-giants
Its amazing that got added in the update. They must have read your post!
Maybe I’m misreading the rule, but I do not think they could Option him. MLB players only have 3 Option years, at year 5, Davis was out of Options.
The Salary is not guaranteed in arbitration. The Giants are only responsible for a pro-rated part of the contract.
Did you not read the article? That contract is not binding- it’s not guaranteed. As of now, the Giants do not use him more than 30-days pay.
He is getting paid 6.9 million no matter what, he has 5 years service time so he can reject the assignment and still get paid. When he goes unclaimed on waivers any team can pick him up at league minimum and Giants will be on hook for the rest
“ why is it that the destruction of something created by humans is called vandalism, but the destruction of something created by god is called development?”
It’s because of the infield fly rule.
Yesterday all the Giants fans had him being traded for a Starting P. What happened? Everybody sober up?
That’s what I’m saying Mike.
I’m sure the Nationals would have traded Patrick Corbin for him.
@Brew Because people created God. And words.
@Brew I don’t get it. I mean, I don’t buy either premise. Who is the quote from? John Denver? Justin Bieber?
Candlestoked: I agree with everything you said.
Because there is no god.
Commie. That’s a capital “G” in God.
No, that’s not true. They had him being packaged with Bart for a starting pitcher. Guess no one wanted Bart, so they waived JD.
Poolhalljunkies — $7M for a player of Davis’ capabilities is well worth it.
Kind of weird to do it this early, especially for a player that can play multiple positions, unless he asked for it.
Gives him a chance to hook up someplace else.
because they have better options for all of the positions he can play
He’s not that good
If he didn’t cost more than $2M, the White Sox might sign him. Mark didn’t do his homework on this one. The Sox don’t need anyone at the corners, although a better defensive 1b wouldn’t hurt.
Ouch. Now they will pay his salary, get nothing for him, and the same for Bart.
Nicely done, Farhan.
Wrong Scott
since his arb went to a hearing, his salary is not guaranteed until opening day, per the new CBA which went into effect last year
Ha ha ha. Too quick. Not enough homework.
Nicely done, Scott.
@tigers182 Seems odd. Even a very fringy prospect would have been worth it to the Giants in return for JDD—but no one wanted a $6.9m DH who learned to play a competent 3B in San Francisco and can handle 1B on an emergency basis?
117 OPS+ 2020–2022
103 OPS+ 2023
The expectation of further decline must be universal for SFG to have put JDD on waivers.
I think someone will skip the waiver order and trade for him- but the return won’t be much.
.
To overcome the spider’s curse, simply quote a Bible verse.
my yolk is easy and my burden is light
Yoke, but great verse
Carlos, Maybe whiffa was yolking.
It was an over easy yolk.
I’ll have the scrambled eggs.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.”
Proverbs 3:5-6
Upon hearing the news about JD Davis, “Jesus wept” John 11:35
@Prov Good words to keep people down and dirty!
Religions are all a form of crowd control.
So are governments
“Religions are all a form of crowd control”
– So are fences, but what’s your point?
Fences are based on reality
So is Jesus. Again, what’s your point? There’s more documented history of Jesus, (as well as His crucifixion and His resurrection) than any other ancient historical figure. Moreover, it’s also extra-Biblical documentation. Regardless, it isn’t even close, unless you plainly deny history as reality…
I like fences that I see Home Runs go over..that being said don’t mess with Jesus
Is that a Supervillans quote? Second Album
@Clipper Whatever point you’re trying to make, please go make it on a holy roller board and leave this to baseball.
I was responding to a comment. I could say the same about your comment. Why is mine held in less regard than yours?
Your response to Prov was about…baseball? Okay, fella. Facts hurt, I know. Still facts though
@Astros Large swaths of humanity need crowd control and/or yearn for crowd control.
@Clipper Good fences make good neighbors?
@Big whiffa Without governments there would be anarchy. Without religions there would be…?
Personally I believe, but all the historical records show is that Hesus existed, not who is is (was).
Just for accuracy not to start a religious thread.
So is fantasy baseball – Bread and Circuses !
Wrong. There is NO documentation of Jesus except in the gospels. And the gospels were written many years later by unknown authors. The names Matthew, Mark, etc were chosen by later editors. Mark was written first. Matthew and Luke copied Mark, but changed the parts of the story they wanted to improve on. John came later and made Jesus into a totally different character.
I’m sorry but that’s not true. There’s more documented evidence about Him from non-Biblical sources as well. Josephus, who was Jewish, and the Roman, Tacitus, are two prime examples.
As far as the Gospel titles, that’s correct. As far as the writings, there are writings recovered from when the Apostles were still alive. There’s more evidence as to historical authenticity than any other ancient historical writing. Even historians who are atheists and agnostics admit as much.
Not first hand documentation. I think Alexander the great, Julius Ceaser, and definitely King Tut(We literally have his body.
The Letters of Paul, and various other gospels that didn’t make it into the New Testament are also historical records that point to Jesus being an actual historical figure. There are virtually zero credible scholars of history, religion, archeology whichever who would argue that Jesus was a complete fabrication or entirely made up. It’s not even a debatable thing. I highly recommend the New Testament scholar Prof Bart Ehrman, his books are fantastic & very readable.
So are cults.
No wars.
Governments script the anarchy. They also raise a working class instead of raising citizens into maturity. So you don’t know that.
There’s only one religion. Jesus died so you can believe whatever you want. And you can’t separate yourself from him. The omnipresent god exists in every cell in the universe- modern science confirms that biblical truth.
So without government there would be peace and without religion there would be nothing
Y’all are looking for proof in the wrong place. Look inside you and the truth will be revealed
If we wake up tomorrow morning with no government, there would be bedlam. No laws, nobody to enforce the laws, nobody to maintain the roads, nobody to distribute the electricity, nobody to maintain the food supply chain, nobody to protect the airspace, nobody to protect your property rights. Etc etc etc. That is called bedlam & anarchy. And religion ain’t gonna do much for you in a game of All Against All or the Walking Dead.
You watch too much sci fi tv. You know the walking dead isn’t remotely real?
I think you misunderstand how the whole God thing works, Mets…..
I think there is two conversations going on here. I was responding to his need for government comment and not your proof of Jesus comments.
If we woke up tmrw and there was no government- those people who do those jobs you described could still go to work. Markets provide my food, vectren provides my energy, and a construction company paves my roads.
And the law is the moral compass each man possesses. Raise up a higher quality individual in society instead of a working class individual and let morality govern
History has been written by the victorious and the few who had known how to do it, especially in ancient times. Every human tale is subject to manipulation until the record of it can be publicly and completely examined. Faith is just a drug that anybody can have for free.
Mets: I’m sorry. I should’ve realized that instead of assuming. My apologies, sir. I wish there was a better way to determine responses within threads…I am obviously not smart enough to track them as is!
@Mets I’ve never seen the Walking Dead. All I know is it appears like it takes place during some post-apocalyptic period where there’s a breakdown of government, etc.
Yeah I’m on my browser using Android phone and it is nearly impossible to see who is replying to whom. If I get a notification that somebody replied to me, that’s the only way I can tell. I wonder if using the app makes it any easier to keep track…?
You think too highly of your fellow man, there’s a reason we need laws in society
Isn’t that Rule 9, subsection D of the baseball rule book?
Heroes get remembered but legends never die
When in doubt, throttle out.
“And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.”
Ahem, brother. Ahem!
@coupofthecentury Did you see what you started ???
@isob He didn’t start it. And it will never end.
@Candle I only addressed it to him because he’s the first one on this thread tree (at least that’s how it appears on my phone.) It was supposed to end in an “lol” fwiw. For tone purposes.
If the plant ye wish to flee, go to sector 7B
Doing my guy dirty. From Sacramento. No trade? That “breakeven” comment for payroll sounding more real
He’s better off without a trade so they’re actually doing him a favor. This way he can pick among teams willing to pay vet minimum for him (which should be a lot) and end up on a team where he can get plenty of playing time. Wouldn’t be surprised to see him in Toronto of Chicago. Or Milwaukee.
I think the Cubs will grab him if on Vet minimum.
Perfect fit.
They won’t get him for the minimum. You’re confusing being DFA’d with being placed on waivers.
Jake: The cubs can’t possibly sign all the players their fans want them to.
@Seamaholic
He’s ‘better off’ getting something like 2m, 3m than 6.9m?
And 8 people agreed with this?
Bet JDD doesn’t agree.
Isn’t vet minimum the same as minimum?
Seattle
Where’s the A’s at on him !?
they have better, cheaper options
Agree! Not telling Crawford about Correa, Kapler fired with a few weeks left in the season, now this. Stay classy SF.. smh
Becoming the President with the Giants exposed how overrated Zaidi is
It was 3 days. Not weeks. Pretty sure Kapler asked to be removed when Farhan told him he would be fired at the end of the season
I’m pretty sure that Kaplan did a credible job with the crap Farhan gave him to work with.
We don’t have the whole story. Yet.
SF314, I told you and Claude Raymond yesterday, Davis and Bart suck, and you will get nothing for them. You told me you would reply here once your trade for prospects happened. So like I said, all teams have guys who suck, and their fans dream about trading them for prospects. This is your reality, just like fans of all the other teams have had to face. Part of being an armchair GM is realizing that there are players that you just have to cut bait with.
Davis does not “suck.” And if you watched him last season, you wouldn’t be so easy saying that.
Is there draft compensation if another team signs him? Don’t get this at all. Maybe they have another contract coming and need the money cleared?
I think if a team signs him now before he clears waivers, they just pay his normal salary and SF is off the hook.
No, his salary is not a guaranteed contract.
Yes it is. All veteran contracts are guaranteed in baseball. This is not the NFL. He will get every penny of his $6.9m, likely in a combo of Giants money (90%) and a new team paying vet minimum (10%).
Joe is right. If someone claims him the Giants are off the hook. There’s no reason to, though.
“Beginning after 2022, salary arbitration eligible players who settle with their teams on a salary for the subsequent season without going to a hearing will be eligible to receive full season termination pay, even if released prior to the start of the season.”
From a MLBTR article after the new CBA signed
Without going to a hearing. Did Davis and Giants sign before going to arb? If they went to a hearing it doesn’t sound like it’s fully guaranteed until opening day
My point to make also, thx. Article hints at him winning via arbitration, nothing agreed upon ex by the panel. Unless things have changed last handful of yrs? Think it used to be just 30 days paid if released before regular season begins.
It did go to a hearing. Davis won the his arb case.
Will not be claimed. Giants will pay him. New team gets him for league minimum.
roob, No they won’t. If the Giants pay him this season, he’ll be wearing a Sacramento River Cats’ uni. If he goes unclaimed and signs with a new team the Giants will off the hook. His salary won’t be league minimum. It will be be what Davis and the new team agree to.
They still have to pay him wherever he goes. All but the league minimum that is.
@ Jean Matrec. Before you lecture and correct people, you might want to make sure you have your facts straight: specifically, check J.D. Davis’ MLB service time, and research what it means.
Since his arb went to a hearing, it is NOT guaranteed until opening day
Padres will pick him up for league minimum
This MLB.com article says that the salary is not guaranteed because he won arbitration, per CBA. mlb.com/news/jd-davis-on-waivers-giants
My apologies for not knowing all the intricacies of the MLB CBA. As far as confusing documents goes it’s right up there with the Dead Sea Scrolls and Rocket Science for Dummies in Latin.
it’s definitely confusing, I only knew about it because there was a story last spring training about the Tigers doing this or attempting to with some of their arb players (I’m not a Tigers fan nor how I know how I even remember the article)
I had hope after reading that but quickly realized the Cubs can’t do that with Wisdom because they were dumb enough to just give it to him. Thought it was worth a shot anyway.
I love how ppl make stuff up out of five different articles and cut and paste them
Not true for arbitration players. If he had been a free agent or agreed to a contract yes it would be guaranteed, but because he went to the hearing they can release him before opening day for prorated portion of the contract. I want to say its 10-20% of the contract
Re-read the article. This isn’t a normal situation since he went to an arbitration hearing and won. Veteran contract status doesn’t apply here. Giants can release him if he goes unclaimed and only be on the hook for 30 days of salary. Say what you want about Farhan(because 99% of the time, I agree), but he knew exactly what he was doing allowing this to go to an arbitration hearing over just $600K. In hindsight, that seemed like a sensible insurance policy should they be able to sign Chapman.
Another team can simply claim him, not sign him and no there is no compensation.
They don’t need him after getting Chapman and it appears no other team was interested in giving up trade assets for him.
If he is claimed, the claiming team takes on the salary of $6.9MM. If he goes unclaimed, he can elect FA, and sign a new contract with a new team, or he can accept a demotion and keep the contract, or (this is likely) the team can release him, and only pay a small portion of the contract as he was cut during spring training, and again he becomes a free agent.
No they get nothing at all, they chose to let him go.
doubt it.
No he did not sign a qualifying offer, so there is no draft compensation. No one will claim him anyway. They’ll wait until the Giants release him and then sign him for minimum while the Giants pay his salary. He cannot be sent down after clearing waivers as he has too much service time.
Seamaholic, I don’t think that’s correct. Davis is still under team control. Plus, they placed him on waivers, they didn’t designate him for assignment. If no one claims him, they can outright him to Sacramento. Since he has 3 years of time in the MLs he can reject it and become a free agent. But if he does that The Giants are off the hook for any guaranteed money owed him.
He’s not going to reject the assignment and forfeit his “giant” salary.
I told you this the other day. He’s not that good.
Think because of his service time he can reject and still get paid. Giants or another team will be paying him.
Simm, He’ll get paid by the Giants only if he accepts the AAA assignment. If he rejects it he’s a FA and he’ll be paid what he can agree to with his new team.
Jean, you keep saying the same thing, and you’re wrong every time you say it.
@ Jean Matrec: Semaholic is right. What you said about 3 years MLB service time applies to those with 3 to 5 years. Those with five years time can reject any assignment and become a free agent, and the Giants will still be on the hook for all but the MLB minimum.
No, you’re wrong. I not going to believe you just because you wrote that I am. I do believe everything I’ve read researching about the waiving of players still under team control, which Davis is.
There’s a reason why Davis was waived, and not DFA’d. He was waived because the Giants are not going to release him. If he clears waivers, he can be outrighted to AAA. Davis can reject it, but if he does so, he loses the money owed to him.
It’s clearly a strategy for the Giants to either clear his money from the payroll, or worse case scenario, have Davis off the 40 man, and playing in Sacramento.
The Giants are not going to pay him that money to play in the minors. They will release him and pay the prorated portion of his salary. Then he’ll find the best offer from another team.
Here is what Maria Guardado wrote earlier. She’s Giants beat writer for mlb.com. :
“If Davis goes unclaimed, the Giants could potentially release him and only be on the hook for a prorated portion of his salary. Because Davis beat the Giants in an arbitration hearing last month, his full salary is not guaranteed under the current rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
@Jean – If JD Davis only had 3 years of service time you would be correct. He’d have to accept an assignment to AAA in order to retain his salary if he wasn’t claimed off of waivers.
Since he has over 5 years of MLB service time, 5.137 to be exact, he has the right to refuse the assignment to AAA and the Giants will still be responsible for paying his full salary. If what you said were true, so many teams would waive their older, highly compensated players to get their salaries off their books. The MLBPA wisely protected their union by not allowing this to happen for veterans with 5+ years of service time in MLB.
You do see teams put a lot of veterans on waivers towards the end of a bad season, hoping someone will claim them and assume the remainder of the contract owed to them, but very few end up getting claimed so they just remain with the team and cannot be sent down to AAA after clearing waivers due to 5+ years of service time.
How are those words tasting Lloyd?
Dorothy- is correct.
Teams put players on waiver hoping one of two things. Done claims them and they don’t have to pay them. Or they are trying to free up a 40 man roster spot and hope the go unclaimed so they can be sent to the minors. In Davis’s case he can reject going to the minors and will still be paid the full amount. The reason he can do that when others can’t is because of his service time. Anyone saying otherwise does t know what they are talking about.
Bitter and metallic.
wrong. Per the new CBT arbitration contracts are only guaranteed if you come to an agreement. They are not guaranteed if you go to a hearing. Davis went to the hearing and won, but that didn’t guarantee his contract, just a higher salary number which he’s betting some other team will claim. If not, he can be cut by SF for only a small prorate of spring training.
Yankees need depth at 3rd. And Cashman likes shopping in the bargain bin
Davis can’t play middle infield. Yankees need versatility.
If he’s free send him over, Lemahieu’s got nothing left. Ahahaha!
Davis is owed 7 mil this year once he clears waivers or sf decides to eat the contract he will have lots of interest
Once he clears waivers the Giants pay his salary. He then signs for veteran minimum (which is $700k or something).
wrong
I agree
That would be $14 mill just for a bench guy. Yikes. Even for the Yankees.
with luck, he goes unclaimed… the Giants drop him completely… and the Mets get their third baseman for minimum league level cost
Well that’s a fine howdy do…
The first part will almost certainly happen. The second part? There will be some competition for him that’s for sure.
Why would the Mets want him back? They have plenty of 3b options at the moment.
Ummm…no. hey have a couple of options, and both of them are still struggling badly this spring. Vientos may have had a breakout game today – we’ll see. but Baty looks much the same as last year. The simple fact is that he is not ready for MLB, and he is the type that will need 4A shuttle time to acclimate.
JD Davis, only 1 year away from free agency would be a valid stopgap.
if He goes unclaimed, the Giants can release him and will only pay a small severance portion of the contract. He will then have to negotiate a new contract with a new team, and it won’t be for minimum!
Wouldn’t be surprised if Cincinnati picks him up because it’s the last thing they need.
Makes sense because they are hell bent on cornering the market on infielders.
A bit of a shocker. He was a closer in college. Maybe he should take an assignment to establish himself as a two-way player.
I think there will be enough interest in him as an IF that there’s no need to reinvent himself.
Maybe this is a 6.9M clear so we can bring in snell on short term
You only clear the money if someone claims him. But everyone knows the Giants will be releasing him (they cannot send him to the minors) after he clears, so teams can get him for vet minimum. I’d be shocked if someone claimed him. He was DFA’d a few days ago, apparently, and no one traded for him for essentially no return, so they’re all just waiting for him to be free. Giants are almost certainly going to be paying his salary to play elsewhere.
Pretty sure his contract is not guaranteed until the season starts so Giants are off the hook regardless
Wait, is he still an arbitration guy? Then you’re right. For some reason I thought he was long past that.
final year of arb
You got it!!
Arbitration contracts are non guaranteed until opening day. Do some research
They’re not fully guarantee. But there are points in spring training hen they become 50%, and then 75% guaranteed.
@Gogiantspadresuck – Those were the rules prior to the last collective bargaining agreement. You could release an arbitration eligible player with either 30 or 45 days of termination pay depending on how many days were left before the regular season started.
With the latest collective bargaining agreement (2022), that provision went away and arbitration eligible players get their agreed upon salary fully paid out even if they are released prior to the start of the season.
Only if there is an agreement. If there is an arb hearing it remains non-guaranteed.
You are wrong in so many ways.
1. If he clears waivers and wants to keep his contract, he can choose to stay in the minors with them. He is not required to stay, but arbitration contracts are not guaranteed. If he chooses FA, he would forfeit his contract.
2. As his arbitration contract is not guaranteed, and the SFG don’t want to pay him, if he clears waivers, they will release him and only pay a small prorated severance to him, if done before the season starts.
3. There is no “veteran’s minimum” in baseball. Its just minimum. Rookie or vet, its the same.
4. If he clears waivers and is released, JD Davis will be a free agent, and will not be accepting a minimum salary to play for someone. He may not get his previous amount, but it won’t be the Giants paying his salary.
Snell was the best SP in baseball last year
It would be interesting to know what Melvin’s input to the front office has been on Snell since he managed him last year. It sort of feels like me isn’t saying we absolutely must have this guy.
Anaheim could use a 3B.
They’re gonna give it to Rendon/Drury/Sano. Good luck.
Wonder if Arte has the nads to cut Rendon?
Rendon playing 162 games this season. You can book it. He will fall in love with baseball all over again.
Wow
So much for trading him for starting pitching.
I’m a little surprised they couldn’t find anybody to take him even if just for picking up his salary.
A little surprised too. Even more surprised the Giants front office didn’t have something lined up before they signed Chapman.
Most teams are already settled at this point.
Earlier in the offseason he’d have been a Tiger if this happened. Not likely now. I wonder if Seattle goes after him?
Seattle does make sense…if sf eats money
There is no sense or roster space behind this conjecture.
I don’t think Davis is much better than Rojas and Urias. Not enough to matter.
I’d like to see CLE end up with him because even though he isn’t your prototypical DH, he’s a lot better option than anyone else the Guardians have in the mix.
Not a Guardians fan huh?
I am, but I’m not a fan of how loudly they’re crying poverty this winter. They refuse to address their need for a right handed bat because such players actually cost more than $12.99
Well then you should know Manzardo will be up this year and has significantly more upside than Davis.
Guardians’ 4-9 is brutal and is an insult to paying fans.
They can only afford $12.99 because they don’t have paying customers. No one to insult.
Mets reunion anyone???
Nope. We have enough 3b options at the moment.
But none of them are any good
This is pretty surprising, one would think some team would have paid a little of his contract, sent a career minor leaguer, something
The White Sox should be on this. In that park he could hit 20-25 and be flipped at the deadline.
Yanks for depth with Peraza out could be something.
Angels could make sense as a platoon bat for a guy who only wants toplay 3 times a week anyway, and likely won’t make it to June
Aren’t Davis and the Angels’ current 3b options all right-handed hitters?
when your current 3B only wants to play half a season and usually can’t make it that far, the platoon is just who wants to fill in when he inevitably gets hurt or quits
If flipped at the deadline, I doubt he would have 25 HRs by then.
For any FAs considering the Giants: Right now they are willing to pay Davis $6.9M this year…to play for someone else.
Why would that fact matter to someone like Snell or Montgomery?
What are you talking about? If someone grabs him off waivers they have to cover his contract.
He wasn’t DFA’d preceding a release. He was waived, There’s a difference. The Giants won’t be paying him anything if he plays for someone else.
Giants will be paying him unless another team claims him. There is a difference but he has enough service time to reject a trip to the minors and still get paid.
He wasn’t released, he was waived. He’ll get paid, but not by the Giants, if he rejects the assignment. He’s still under team control, with 3+ years of service time. That means if he rejects the assignment he forfeits the guaranteed money owed him. What he’ll be paid is what he agrees to with a new team.
Exactly, if someone claims Davis they are the ones that will pay Davis the agreed upon arbitration figure, however, if he isn’t claimed (which I believe he will be claimed) he will remain with the Giants with the giants obviously covering the bill.
@Jean -JD Davis has over 5 years of service time in MLB so if he clears waivers and refuses an assignment to AAA, the Giants will still have to pay his full contract. He has 5.1 years of service time. If he only had 3 years of service time you are right, he’d have to accept an assignment to AAA in order to retain his salary, but after 5 years he can reject the assignment and still get the remainder of his guaranteed money paid to him by SF.
Dorothy,
Guardado, “If Davis goes unclaimed, the Giants could potentially release him and only be on the hook for a prorated portion of his salary. Because Davis beat the Giants in an arbitration hearing last month, his full salary is not guaranteed under the current rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement”.
Mariners could use the upgrade at a veteran minimum, but not on his current deal
Maybe???
Giants front office is just completely incompetent, aren’t they? When they signed Chapman, the argument was either 1) Well they’ll trade Davis for something now; or 2) Well they’ll sign Snell or Montgomery now. Guess what, neither have happened or (it looks like) are going to happen. The idiots grabbed Chapman entirely because he went for less money than expected, like they’re playing fantasy baseball, and tried to figure it out later. Giants fans should be pissed.
FA negotiations are fluid. You don’t hesitate to sign Chapman just to accommodate a lesser player in Davis. They try to manage with many different scenarios of what the roster could look like, and Chapman waiting this long to sign doesn’t make it easier for Giants to flip Davis when most teams are already filled out.
I’m guessing few if any Giants fans are “pissed”. Davis wasn’t a fan fave. We’d much rather have Chapman with Schmitt in the wings for either 3B or SS. I don’t hope they sign Snell or Monty, we will be totally fine with the pitching we have.
Now JD Davis and Tommy Pham can sit down, have coffee and commiserate on letting their big mouths ruin Major League Baseball playing opportunities.
What did JD Davis say?
He whined about the giants signing Chapman, and just a few short months ago he said he wasn’t worried about them signing and competing w Chapman
What is he supposed to say? “Yeah, I hope they sign a guy to replace me this off-season.”
JD Davis nowhere in the same realm as Pham when it comes to attitude limiting their options
Well if your job hires someone and blatantly tells you that he’s your replacement, kick rocks, you better not whine or complain. There’s a difference at being upset with how something went with your job, and being a clubhouse cancer, getting into fights and ending up stabbed, and slapping people over fantasy football.
He didn’t need to comment at all. Agreed he’s nothing like pham, but he did go back on what he said. No reason to cry about the team not asking if it’s okay to replace you with a much better player
Comparing Davis to Pham as far as attitude is wrong. Davis is nowhere near the malcontent that Pham can be. Davis did what he was asked and even worked his butt off to be better defensively. He didn’t become a whiner until Chapman arrived. And even then I can kind of understand him being butt hurt by the Chapman signing. He had the best year of his career in 2023. I’m sure he was confident that he was the 3b starter going into this spring. He will help any team he goes too. I wish him well but hope we don’t pay him the 7 mil to play somewhere else.
Davis hasn’t played since the 4th. Wonder how much pent up tension around the clubhouse when he and Chapman are in the same room.
I didn’t like Davis. Not a great situational hitter in my opinion. Hacks at the first pitch every AB, no matter what. Not the kind of hitter I’d want. And his second half was not that great.
Baseball can be a cruel, cruel business. One day you’re at third, spitting seeds in the sun and the next you’re waived because the Giants found something better. He should join a gym, work on his revenge body, and get back out there to prove them wrong.
Yes, baseball can be a Ruf business.
Pirates should claim. Bat pretty good.
Agreed, Caveman!
Don’t discount how much his whining to the press about SF signing Chappy made him unwanted. Even if they end up paying him to play elsewhere it’s a win for the Giants as it opens up a roster spot.
Who Cares ,just another mediocre Shlub.
A mediocre Shlub? Living a life you can only dream about! Must be awesome being you!
Oh No ya got me there ,crawl back in your hole stooge.
10M over five years in the MLB is evidently “mediocre shlub” pay.
Ya…ok.
I could see the cubs dfa wisdom and grab Davis.
Not going to happen. Wisdom certainly has his flaws but the Cubs are not going to put him on waivers.
People are trying to sell low on Wisdom but mark me word, he’s going to put up a monster year in Chicago this season.
JD had better numbers than Chapman
WTF are the Giants on?
Must be Chapman’s glove
Except he didn’t at all lol. Plus he was horrendous in the second half
Except he did and you didn’t do your homework
J.D. Davis is a chump. No loss for the Giants.
But he did hit 18 hr last year. Someone could use him. Maybe the tension in the clubhouse was real. He has made a few comments since Chapman signed. Probably a little more to this than we are hearing thus far. He was part of a nice trade to us though.
Come on Arte. Rendon is already hurt. Let’s not actually think he’s going to play this year.
It would be really nice if the writers at MLBTR would explain the contract implications of this, so we don’t have to rely on unreliable commenters explaining it.
I believe this would be the relevant rule if Davis is unclaimed: “Players cut on or before the 16th day of Spring Training are owed 30 days’ termination pay (based on the prorated version of his agreed-upon salary).” But I’m not certain and I’m not reliable. 🙂
I agree. Isn’t that why we read mlbtr? Give us the ramifications of this move please. Guess there’s a reason I didn’t see him in the dugout for today’s game. Lol
This should clear it up. Prior to 2022, arbitration salaries were not guaranteed. Teams could DFA players and only have to pay them a small portion of their contract so long as they were released by opening day. They changed this is the last collective bargaining agreement. Here are the new rules:
“Per the 2022-26 collective bargaining agreement, arbitration-eligible players who settle with their teams on a salary for the subsequent season without going to a hearing will be eligible to receive full season termination pay, even if they are released prior to the start of the season.”
JD Davis did go to a hearing and won, so he has a fully guaranteed salary of $6.9M that the Giants cannot get out from since he has 5+ years of service time.
Dorothy, back to back sentences in your post contradict each other. Read what you wrote. (1)Settle withOUT hearing= guaranteed and settled WITH hearing not guaranteed. (2) You then say Davis salary guaranteed because he had a hearing. 1 and 2 are contradictory.
They aren’t sure either. These guys can’t be experts on every random contract scenario.
A lot of misinformation being thrown around. He wasn’t DFA’d, he was placed on waivers. If he clears the Giants can outright him to AAA. He has the ability to reject the assignment, but if he does the Giants will be off the hook for his salary.
Jean, waiver claim priority is the reverse order of last seasons’ records. My guess is one of the top priority teams wanted him but didn’t want to give up anything. So SF said we’ll waive him and you can grab him. ie, I don’t think he’ll go unclaimed.
Maybe not. He’s not useless, but I’m not sure anyone wants to pay him that salary he won in arb. If another team does want him I think it’s more likely that they trade for him with Giants eating a couple million.
$7 mil is not too high imo.
Maybe he used his opt out. Lol
Jean, based on what Guardado wrote, Im reversing my opinion. I’ll agree with your prediction.
She wrote “If Davis goes unclaimed, the Giants could potentially release him and only be on the hook for a prorated portion of his salary. Because Davis beat the Giants in an arbitration hearing last month, his full salary is not guaranteed under the current rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
@Jean –
I’ll try to explain one more time with better facts. If a team waives a player with 3 years to 4.999 years of service time (or waives a player with less than 3 years of service time who has been waived before in his career) and that player clears waivers, the player has two options if the team tries to assign them to AAA:
1) Accept the assignment to AAA and they will retain their MLB salary while playing in AAA
2) Reject the assignment and become a free agent. If the player chooses to do this, his former team will NOT have to pay the remaining contract owed to the player because he chose free agency over the AAA assignment.
Once a player reaches 5 or more years of service time, an unclaimed, waived player can reject the assignment to AAA and the club will still need to pay out the remainder of the contract owed to him. Since JD Davis has 5.137 years of service time, SF will be responsible for paying his full salary should they choose to release him after he clears waivers. After being released, any acquiring team would only have to pay him the league minimum salary and SF would have to pay him the difference of his remaining $6.9M contract less the league minimum being paid by his new team.
Let’s Go, AJ…sign him for the league minimum in SD!!!
The Angels will inevitably need a third baseman.
I doubt anyone claims him, nor do I think he would accept AAA assignment. Seems like a $3-4MM guy, so let him get to free agency. Giants pay the modest 30-day severance, saving a chunk of money and the new team he signs with gets him at a more reasonable salary.
finally someone gets it
He would definitely accept the assignment which is why the Giants won’t offer it. He will be released and paid the prorated portion of his contract.
@rosxbob – This used to be true but the 30/45 day severance ended with the most recent collective bargaining agreement signed in 2022. Teams now have to pay the full year salary of an arbitration-eligible player even if he is released 30+ days prior to the start of the regular season.
that’s only if the arb amount is agreed upon and not taken to a hearing, once the arb amount goes to a hearing, it is not guaranteed until opening day…
Pirates. Because he’s better than Connor Joe, Josh Palacios, and any other poor excuses for platoon bats they keep pushing out there.
Looks like a renegotiation ploy.
He’ll clear waivers
Surprising move but Davis never really wanted to be a Giant. Smart way to clear his salary even if it’s disappointing SF couldn’t trade him.
You sure ?
There’s a video of him and Webb doing a “take 2” thing for the Giants. Both locals who grew up around the same time playing in the same SF area. Sure sounded like he wanted to be there, and that he wanted to be there long term.
He wanted to be there right up until the Chapman signing. Mixed feelings here. We went into the off season looking for a more power laden lineup and we waive Davis who I believe was 2nd on the Giants last year in homers. Guess you can’t really hit homers if there’s no playing time though. Still a bit confusing but more correct info might clear it up some.
Look up his old tweets before he joined the Giants- he labeled himself as a die-hard Giants hater and claimed he was “a fan of any team facing the Giants.”
I believe his contract only becomes “guaranteed” upon making the opening day roster. Until then, he has a non-guaranteed contract, which under the MLB contract says:
Players cut on or before the 16th day of Spring Training are owed 30 days’ termination pay (based on the prorated version of his agreed-upon salary). A player cut between the 16th day and the end of Spring Training is owed 45 days’ termination pay (based on the prorated version of his agreed-upon salary).
I don’t know if today is 16th day or not.
Incorrect, that’s the old rules, and arbitration is now guaranteed salary. To top it off, since he has more than five years of service time, if he passes through waivers unclaimed, he can reject the assignment while keeping his salary.
Giants beat writer disagrees with you per new CBA. Read: mlb.com/news/jd-davis-on-waivers-giants
No, the salary is not guaranteed unless the two sides reached an agreement without going to arbitration. The Giants can cut him and pay only the prorated portion of his contract.
This, from A Baggarly on 2/16, makes it even more intriguing:
If not for the Giants’ relatively recent adoption of a rigid “file and trial” policy, in which all negotiations cease once an arbitration process reaches the filing stage, then the five-hour hearing wouldn’t have been necessary at all. Davis sheepishly admitted he would have taken the Giants’ number if they had offered it before the Jan. 12 filing deadline or had been willing to negotiate anytime thereafter.
Did they see the writing on the wall with Chapman, and so skipped quickly to a hearing with Davis, effectively giving the team an out on his contract?
Guardado,beat writer: “If Davis goes unclaimed, the Giants could potentially release him and only be on the hook for a prorated portion of his salary. Because Davis beat the Giants in an arbitration hearing last month, his full salary is not guaranteed under the current rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.”
That’s clumsy writing, if it’s a direct quote. His salary is not guaranteed because he went to a hearing at all, not because he won.
And while the way the Giants proceeded is kinda genius in a business sense, it’s also a somewhat shoddy way to treat a player.
He should have known. Sure sounds like he should’ve accepted their offer if this was a possibility.
You are correct, casualatlfan. That 30/45 day termination pay agreement ended with the last collective bargaining agreement. As of 2022, teams now have to pay the full year salary of a waived/released arbitration-eligible player even if they are released prior to the start of the regular season.
This comment thread making me sympathetic to Farhan. Can you really be sentimental about a guy with crippling limitations that a team with a patchwork rotation can ill afford? You apparently can if youre a Giants fan.
To all those writers that talked about “Seattle” would be a good trade partner for JD(3B)….
They won’t do it, but I’d really love to see the Red Sox put a claim in on him. He’s not that expensive and if his bat plays at Fenway (I think it would) he’d either be of great benefit to a lineup that lacks a reliable corner bench bat or serve as a trade chip in the likely scenario that Boston is out of contention by July. I’m sure his salary “isn’t in the budget,” though. Sigh.
They their offense from the corners is a huge problem…
Article is incorrect. The Rangers do NOT have a need for either a 3rd baseman or 1st baseman. Starters are down temporarily but team has PLENTY of in-house options.
At least the Giants are making clear their willing to clear out the roster, and that they’re not just going to hang on to guys. Stripling, Haniger, Davis, I imagine Bart will be next. They are making an effort to change things up.
18 HRs in that park, is like 28 in lets say Angels stadium (which I think maybe next stop)
I’m just surprised Farhan couldnt work a deal since he has worked so many great deals for players on 1 year deals.
Come on Dip/Holl figure something out. Get’r done.
How does Wade jr. always make the team?
OBP
If he clears waivers, do the Giants still owe him the full salary? If he’s claimed, does the claiming team take over the salary and the Giants pay nothing? Real questions, I don’t know
No. Per CBA if no one claims him they can just release him and pay prorated part of salary because he won in arbitration. mlb.com/news/jd-davis-on-waivers-giants
They owe him the full salary unless they decide to release him in which they will only owe him the prorated portion.
Two and a half weeks to go. Someone will get hurt and he’ll have a job.
Joey Bart next on waivers, please
Is there anything less than waivers for Bart? I mean, can they just change the locks and keep him out of camp?
I think if they have room they hold on to Bart and wait out a trade Rather than just waive him. At some point someone will be in a catcher crunch
Love to see him back with the Mets
@ Silent Bob23 Love is a strong word, but yes, I agree with the idea and had been thinking over the past ew days, after seeing how bad Baty and Vientos look at the plate so far this spring, how JD Davis would have been a decent stopgap between Escobar and Baty, who is still looks unready for MLB play.
Wrong
he’s never done either, and at age 37 he won’t
This dude posts the same tired comment on every giants thread. Crawford looks like he hasn’t seen the gym all off season in that cards uni
Actually, videos of him taking grounder w Cards show he’s in great shape.But yes, it’s the retread post…again.
Red Sox should let him go through waivers then sign him to play third at league minimum.
There’s a bloated already stinking contract occupying the Red Sox 3B.
I’ve been looking through the roster but can’t really find a main third base guy. Last year we had Turner.
LOL never mind, it’s obviously Devers. Yeah, we don’t have much room for him, though if we could somehow ditch Dalbec, I would take JD over him.
He should have taken the contract the Giants offered him instead of going to arbitration. Now he’s cost himself millions of dollars.
Apparently they didn’t offer anything until the filing deadline
I posted on that arb story that JD should have taken the offer. It was fair, and turns out he priced himself out of a trade market. The hearings can get nasty and both sides can carry a chip on the shoulder when it’s over. He was just a one year stop gap this year at best, and that was before Chapman. Good Luck JD !
I hope the best for your next endeavor.
In a daring loophole search THE GIANTS claim him back on waivers and assert they only have to pay league minimum.
JD whipped off to the media after Bill Lumbergh downsized him without giving him his due respek. He’ still chapped and hasn’t played since March 5. “There’s some stuff going on right now, so that’s why he hasn’t played,” manager Bob Melvin said. “We’ll see how it turns out here in the next day or so.” We will see if JD is all about the $$ or if he will bet on himself and fly like a bird. I’m guessing he might opt to eat turds as a river cat w/ his $$.
Jays are a good fit!
Maybe why they let him go to Arb.
Matt Chapman is JD Davis 2.0
“For the money” they paid Chapman I don’t see that much of an upgrade.
SF still needs to improve their starting pitching until Ray and Cobb back.
What a terrible loophole in the CBA. The Giants should be responsible for his full salary instead of the major league minimum in the form of termination pay
is that you JD?
Just curious, but if he doesn’t perform to their liking at $7MM/year, why should they have to pay him? It doesn’t prevent him from getting a job with another team, nor does it limit his earning potential; but it’s a non-guaranteed contract, which is not a loophole at all. In fact, it’s explicitly addressed in the agreement between the players and the league.
A lot of us don’t know the ins and outs of arbitration. I assumed that the salary was guaranteed, or else why would a player take that gamble over a few hundred thousand bucks?
Because if they believe that their fair market value, then why question that someone else would pay that or more for you.
In Davis’ case, his win was shocking. He is overpaid.
Scott59: I’m not entirely sure if you were responding to me, but if you were, I may have misunderstood the original comment by Wiz. I thought he was saying the Giants should be required to pay regardless of whether he moves on or not, but used a loophole to avoid payment. I apologize if I misunderstood.
I wouldn’t be surprised that many players were not aware of the change.
This info should have been made clear by the MLBPA an/or the player’s agent.
I bet most players will be aware going forward. A Rude Awakening?
I didn’t know about the loophole but I get now why they went to arb rather than paying the 600k in the dispute when tendering the contract
Looks like several posters have some crow to eat – glad I didn’t throw my 2 cents in as I would have been wrong as well lol
Impossible is working on a plant-based crow for us vegetarians.
Instead of crow I believe vegetarians can eat humble pie instead.
It could also be in a manner of speaking ” A Thorn in their Pride”
Count all the Black Crowes; nature hardly produces a rare albino one
I once tried to collect crows but once I got the second one I as arrested…for attempted murder.
True. Nobody but you.
that would be an improvement over the love of your life, Brandon Crawford
Is JD any relation to Ben?
However it ends up, he’s not returning to the Giants. Nothing else to see here.
JD Davis is a great player. The Mets need a thirdbaseman. What we have right now available to us is a joke. This is their chance to redeem themselves. Don’t screw this up Dollar Tree David. Clean up InEppler’s mess
Davis probably goes unclaimed and then signs elsewhere as a free agent. I wouldn’t be surprised if he went back to the Mets
Makes a lot of sense for The Mets.
Can platoon at 3B/DH and backup 1B
I’m kind of stunned by the CBA addendum to the article. Why should a player in this situation be screwed out of a salary he went to arb to fight for (and won)? Wouldn’t that precedent force a lot of players into just taking what the team offers? Wouldn’t that also incentivize the team to shirk their commitment to anyone who goes to arb against them if they find a free agent they like better in the offseason?
Sure.
But you’re assuming that the analysis that goes into identifying appropriate arbitration figures for submission aren’t reflective of value. They generally are.
It’s safe to say, barring an injury, the salary an arbiter selects isn’t far off from what he’d get in the market. In fact, a team might use that opportunity to sign for multiple years, not giving the player that final year to prove themselves even more valuable.
Yeah goes without saying the CBA change could end up costing JDDavis say 3M?
I wonder how much thought went into the MLBPA allowing this negotiated change – maybe they thought it would be a rare occurrence and not a hill to die on.
So the article speculates what teams are logical fits for JDDavis (maybe as many as 10?), they just want him at half the cost.
@Scott It is actually an improvement in the CBA because all arbitration contracts used to be non-guaranteed. Now some are guaranteed, if the team and player come to an agreement before trial.
Most teams won’t cut a player they think has value, and SF did value Davis until they had a different plan. If they had roster space they might have kept him.
Davis bet on himself, and won in arb. Whether he ends up seeing that increased money is up to the market now if he’s claimed – else the market will determine a free agency number for him.
This is a very rare case of…buyers remorse? As they couId have just non-tendered him before doing the arb song and dance. I wish Jays could still non-tender Espinal by opening day, although he was never in the cards so it never made sense to tender.
Hopefully, posters, including myself, now understand how this could play out.
amazing deal for SF. Dump that bench player and all of his salary. Someone will sign him for 4m plus incentives (still an overpay)
Does this mean Snell to SF?
JD Davis claimed by Pittsburgh? Backup to Hayes, 1B, and spell McCutchen in DH?
This is one of the aspects of the CBA I don’t care for, If a team doesn’t want a player, let them non-tender him instead of going all the way through arbitration and then being cut.
Bravo SF! You are top of the list for Slimiest moves!
You suck huge!!!
No wonder no one wants go there.
Yeah but also Davis could have just accepted the offer that was not far off from the arb number and this could very well not have happened at all. Whoever his agent is should have advised him that this could happen
Stupid comment. Keep him in trade limbo until a trade happens which could be weeks or free him now to find a suitor. Keeping him for weeks until you get a desirable offer while Davis is in trade limbo. Giants freed him to avoid that limbo. Slimy?
Seattle says Thank you
Be not righteous over much. Ecc. 7:16
I don’t want him, I have enough mouths to feed.
This is a perfect storm for JD Davis and the “right now” is why he reacted so angrily at the Chapman signing a week ago. SFG were connected to Chapman this off-season and he’s a Boras client which means he would be signing late. Did JD and his agent contemplate this possible scenario when they found themselves not agreeing on a contract and heading to arbitration?
The time frame to sign is in mid January and so the RSN impact was known to some degree. That said, if someone offered the Giants a bag a balls for JD, and he’s still have that non-guarantee hanging over his head. Paying him severance and letting pick his own destination is the best SFG can do by this player at this point.
As one post indicated this guarantee vs non guarantee nature of the going to arbitration has it’s risks, certainly an injury risk until opening day, how did the MLBPA make the concession to agreeing to a contract w/o a hearing would guarantee a contract but going to arbitration would have this window where things could go sideways for a player?
In his shoes MIL might be a good home for JD, a great hitters park before he gets to free agency. MIL have their shortstop of the future in Ortiz at 3rd and are sticking with Adames after moving Burnes. LAD already had supposedly asked on Adames prior the Lux throwing issues, @ $12.25M Adamas is $25+M after taxes unless they take back a salary from LAD.
Oh Man, Davis got Played. !!!!!!
It takes 2 to tango
So wouldn’t every club welcome going to arbitration just to have this very safety net option of dumping a player and only owing them a pittance of the contract? What am I missing?
Yes but they could just non-tender them if you dont want them and it has the same result with a lot less “bloodshed”. Also if the club won they would have been on the hook so if they didnt want him then they would be stuck with him. All in all a rare, but bizarre case.
I think as long as it doesn’t go to arbitration, the money is guaranteed… once it goes to arbitration, (regardless who wins) that’s when the is only guaranteed if the player is still on the roster as of Opening Day… I think
It won’t apply to every player but it certainly will with those on the borderline of making the team. Gives you the ability to cut bait without losing a lot of money. And the risk of winning arbitration? Not if you low ball the player – it’s a win-win for teams. If the player wants a guaranteed contract then they agree to a low ball offer. If they want arbitration then the risk is being cut. It’s a business but it is how they conduct business that cements reputations.
Guys it’s alright….Zaidi read Moneyball in college, he knows what’s he doing.
Come in Seattle. Go get him!
I wish JD the best. He played well for the Giants.
Fire Farhan
Good thing you are NOT part of the Giants ownership group which just gave him a 3 year extension. But if you were, who do you replace Farhan with?
Welp this thread blew up.
Seattle or Toronto will sign him for 2 million and he’s going to hit pretty well wherever he goes. The writing was on the wall that Farhan had every intention of cutting his salary since the arbitration hearing.
Bring him back to the Mets, can help at 3b, OF and DH
This is my opinion. I think the Giants should have kept JD Davis and extended him. They spent this off-season looking for an experience shortstop as a back up and they will do the same thing next off-season. Matt Chapman has done said he is optinng out after the season and SF has no one ready to play third base. Again just my opinion.
JD Davis has been solid , unless he is a problem in the clubhouse – this reflects poorly on Farhan.
I mean dumping Crawford, Correra physical, and now this – not player friendly moves.
We will see, but if you had been negotiating with. Chapman for months , you would have thought a “genius” like Farhan would have already had a plan for JD Davis.
Or maybe this is their new approach to any player that’s takes them to arbitration.
Oh Farhan – hot news – you have one proven MLB starter in your opening day rotation. Great job
I think the smartest man in the room (Farhan) is going to regret putting JD on waivers. JD’s agent is not just going to walk away and sully his reputation as a result of his client getting played. Instead, here is the current CBA and refer to Article IX – Section B on Termination Pay. Basically the agent has a case under the language that JD could only be terminated for: “for failure to exhibit sufficient skill or competitive ability.” Based on his numbers last year there is no way that half of the players on the 40-man roster were or are better than JD. This will not end well for Farhan or the Giants. I can see punitive damages being awarded in this case. mlbplayers.com/_files/ugd/4d23dc_d6dfc2344d2042de9…
Its a subjective rule and it would only have to be at the positions Davis played.
It will be interesting to follow JD Davis and Giants. He stands to lose millions.
Come on brewers. Clear upgrade.
They couldn’t find a trade partner and its doubtful he gets claimed. So he gets $1 million from the Giants and becomes a free agent again.
Once that happens I could see him getting a $2-3 million deal.
JD Davis will make $6.9m this season – either the Giant’s pay it or another team. Perhaps a combination of both if a trade can be worked out.
But the CBA won’t allow the Giants to shed this salary .
Hopefully this action was the request of JD and his agent for him to find playing time somewhere else – if its Farhan trying to be clever this is going to make the Giant’s an even less desirable destination for players
Please read the above comments on his salary as an arbitration winner – Giants and all other teams owe him $0 until he can work out a new deal (which cannot be with the Giants).
I dont believe this is correct- upon ruling of the arbitration panel , the player/team are entered into the UPC – unless JD Davis didnt sign his contract – the Giants and davis have a binding agreement.
The Giants can terminate – but in order to not pay Davis they need to do the following :
A Player whose Contract is terminated by a Club under paragraph 7(b)(2) of the Uniform Player’s Contract for failure to exhibit sufficient skill or competitive ability -is only entitled to termination pay.
If they terminate for this cause once the season starts – they have to pay remainder of the contract – this is really the only difference . Technically waiving hm in spring , allows them to only have to pay 30/45 days of termination plus other costs – if they can prove JD Davis doesn’t have the skill ability to play professional baseball.
Given the Giants lost their arbitration hearing , there is no way they will be able to make this claim and prevail.
The Giants are on the hook for these dollars – not a big deal- and I hope the waiver request was per the Davis camp. If the Giants try not to pay the contract , they will lose, and they will aliinate a chunk of MLB players.
The Giants will still owe him a prorated portion of his salary. When they release him he will get just under $1.2 million and then be a free agent.
They don’t have to prove he can’t play baseball, only that he wouldn’t make their team. The Giants will release him and pay only the termination fee.
This is the most sensible explanation. The only comment hanging out there without an explanation, is Melvin saying something about stuff going on and we’ll see in a few days.
Not the case. The article said as much.
He will get a little less than $1.2 million from the Giants if he is released prior to opening day.
After he clears waivers I could see him being a nice backup/insurance policy for the Angels at 3B/1B/DH.
He could go back to the Mets.
If Giants are able to save money they should. JD will not get 6.9 million this year. He’s a free agent after 2024 season. Hopefully he can find a new team that allows regular playing time in 2024.
Mets new dh.
Teams have very little interest in Longoria
He’ll get picked up by someone. He’s an above average hitter and reasonably durable. I don’t buy that he’s a problem person – never read that until this thread. He’s a below average fielder at 3rd. Cannot play the outfield. Actually he is probably better than most of the Mets’ options at DH. I guess DJ Stewart would be the other. Might be worth picking up as there is no guarantee either of Baty or Vientos will cut it. He won’t make $6.9 but may $3 or $4 would do it. It makes sense for the Giants to drop him at $6.9 – it sure would suck if Chapman were hitting .220 with a zillion strikeouts by summer.
To Pete’s View. JD Davis July and August 2023 . 32 hits in 177 at bats. So yes Brother, I see and I read it. He sucks
Excuse me 167 at bats. Still less than .200