The Orioles sign an infielder JD Davisreports Jon Heyman of the New York Post on X. It's Davis' minor league contract, via Andy Kostka of the Baltimore Banner at X. The veteran was released by the Yankees last week.
Davis, 31, entered 2024 riding a five-year streak of being an above-average hitter at the major league level. But this season was unusual in a few different ways, much to his chagrin.
He and the Giants went to arbitration over the winter, and won, albeit in vain. The arbitrator sided with him and his representatives, choosing their $6.9MM salary as opposed to the $6.5MM figure the team was seeking. However, under the collective bargaining agreement, arb wages are guaranteed only if the parties avoid a hearing.
The Giants then took advantage of the weak free agency market, signing both Matt Chapman again Blake Snell after a long stay in the free center until the month of March. Chapman's deal removed Davis from his role as the club's regular third baseman, so they released him. Since his salary was not guaranteed, the Giants only had to pay him a 30-day severance payment, approximately $1.1MM.
Davis then hit the aforementioned free agent market and had to pay a $2.5MM guarantee from the Athletics, well below what San Francisco was aiming to earn. With Oakland, he missed a few weeks while on the injured list with a right adductor strain and didn't get into much of a groove around that in the IL stint. He hit .236/304/.366 with a wRC+ of 96 and was designated for assignment in June.
The Yankees then acquired him but did not give him much playing time. He was on the roster for over a month but battled illness and got into just seven games, hitting .105/.227/.158 in those. He was designated for assignment just before the trade deadline but the Yanks couldn't find a taker. With more than five years of major league service under his belt, he could have turned down the assignment entirely and kept the rest of his salary. The Yankees overcame that by releasing him.
It's no doubt been a tough year but it's a smart move for the O's to take, especially in a minor league affair. Davis had a solid slash of .268/.352/.443 from 2019 to 2023 with a wRC+ of 120, indicating that he was 20% better than the league average during that time. Since the Yankees released him, they paid the rest of his contact. If the O's select him from the roster at any point, they would only have to pay him the minimum major league salary, minus what the Yankees are paying.
Baltimore just put up two Jorge Mateo again Jordan Westburg from the injured list, two pieces of their infield mix were removed. Hope Coby Mayo he's covering third base now but has six strikeouts and no hits through his first 12 plate appearances. Ramón Urías he's also there but not having a strong season, hitting .238/.310/.370 with a wRC+ of 96 with -3 Defensive Runs Saved and -6 Outs Above Average.
If Davis can get in good form and Mayo continues to struggle, the veteran might be a little help fixing the O's problem. Davis will likely report to Triple-A Norfolk in the coming days and get regular at-bats, something he has struggled to find this year.
Source link
