The Yankees announced this afternoon that they have acquired an infielder JD Davis and the cash consideration from the A's in the player transfer Jordan Groshans. Davis was assigned to the A's earlier this week. The Yankees passed the right hand Nick Burdi on the 60-day injured list to make room for Davis on the 40-man roster.
Davis, 31, signed with the A's in late spring after the Giants released Davis during Spring Training to get out of the $6.9MM salary cap he was offered in the winter settlement. He was only able to get $2.5MM guaranteed in Oakland, which is a far cry from his previously awarded arbitration salary even after factoring in the roughly $1.1MM in termination pay he received in San Francisco.
After that late spring controversy, Davis went on to appear in 39 games with the A's where he slashed a league average of .236/.304/.366 in 135 trips to the plate while splitting time between first base, third base, and DH. While his offensive numbers this year leave something to be desired, Davis' positional versatility and record as an above-average hitter make him a perfect fit for the Yankees' current needs.
The club has lost since DH Giancarlo Stanton on the injured list earlier today, along with the first baseman Anthony Rizzo he was also put on the shelf not long ago due to a broken arm. Rookie Ben Rice he's been a bit underwhelming in his first few games replacing Rizzo at first, while the club has no obvious alternative to Stanton as the everyday in-house DH. Even the third base, where the club currently relies on a combination of Oswaldo Cabrera again DJ LeMahieuNew York had a wRC+ of just 78 – which ranks second worst among all AL third base units, ahead of only the White Sox.
Enter Davis, who entered the 2024 season with five straight seasons of solid production with the Mets and Giants. Since the start of the 2019 season, Davis has slashed a solid .265/.349/.438 with a wRC+ of 118. Although he has struck out at a 27.1% clip during that span, he has walked at a healthy 10% rate while striking out 20. -the power of homer. That kind of production would be a huge improvement for a Yankees club that has struggled to generate offense out of the outfield this year even before losing Stanton for at least a short time. Davis appears likely to step into the everyday DH role for the Yankees while Stanton is unavailable, but he could also spell Rice at first against lefty pitching and take a role at third alongside LeMahieu and Cabrera.
On days when Davis plays the infield, the Yankees can contribute Aaron is the judge or Juan Soto a chance to get half a day off as a DH and improve the club's outfield defense by adding a glove-first center fielder Trent Grisham in the mix. When Stanton finally returns for a regular DH, the Yankees can pick and choose from Davis, Rice, Cabrera, and LeMahieu based on how everyone performs. That being said, if Davis is able to maintain his production as an Athlete in the Bronx he should be able to at least get some regular playing time in the Yankees position even after Stanton returns.
In exchange for Davis' services, the Yankees sent Groshan to Oakland. The 24-year-old's time in the Yankees organization was short-lived, as the club sought his release from the Marlins in February. He was cut from their 40-man roster in early March and has struggled so far in the 2024 season with a .232/.310/.281 slash line while playing all four infield spots in 50 games split between double- and triple-doubles. . -A standards. That follows a similar stint at Triple-A with Miami last year; in 528 plate appearances in 125 games in 2023, Groshans slashed .244/.339/.330 with just six home runs.
Even though Groshan has struggled over the past two seasons, it's not hard to see why the A's are willing to give the youngster a shot. After all, the outfielder was the twelfth pick in the 2018 draft by the Blue Jays and received the best possible future early in his career, including getting a 50-sport deal back in 2021. That lineage was united. with Groshans strong numbers at the Double-A level early in his career gives reason to hope the youngster can contribute at the big league level at some point.
That could be attractive to an Oakland club that has struggled to find a consistent option at third this year while cycling between Davis, Abraham Toroagain Tyler Nevin instead. Toro will be out until the All-Star break recovering from a strained hamstring, leaving another opportunity for Groshans to win playing time at the hot corner.
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