The Orioles are signing infielder J.D. Davis, reviews Jon Heyman of The New York Submit on X. It’s a minor league deal for Davis, per Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner on X. The veteran was launched by the Yankees final week.
Davis 31, got here into 2024 on a stable five-year run of being an above-average bat on the main league degree. However this season has been an uncommon one in just a few other ways, which have largely been disappointing for him.
He and the Giants went to an arbitration listening to within the winter, which he gained, although it turned out to be a hole victory. The arbiter sided with him and his reps, choosing their $6.9MM wage versus the $6.5MM determine the crew sought. Nevertheless, underneath the collective bargaining settlement, arb salaries are solely assured if the perimeters keep away from a listening to.
The Giants then took benefit of the weak free agent market, signing each Matt Chapman and Blake Snell after they lingered in free company into the month of March. The Chapman deal nudged Davis off his perch because the membership’s common third baseman, in order that they launched him. Since his wage wasn’t assured, the Giants solely needed to pay him 30 days’ termination pay, roughly $1.1MM.
Davis then went out into the aforementioned tepid free agent market and needed to accept a $2.5MM assure from the Athletics, far lower than what he was slated to earn in San Francisco. With Oakland, he missed a few weeks whereas on the injured listing with a proper adductor pressure and didn’t get into a lot of a groove round that IL stint. He hit .236/304/.366 for a wRC+ of 96 and was designated for task in June.
The Yankees then acquired him however didn’t give him a lot taking part in time. He was on the roster for over a month however battled an sickness and solely acquired into seven video games, hitting .105/.227/.158 in these. He was designated for task simply previous to the commerce deadline however the Yanks couldn’t discover a taker. Since he has greater than 5 years of main league service time, he may have rejected an outright task whereas retaining the rest of his wage. The Yankees skipped that formality by releasing him.
It’s undoubtedly been a tough yr however it’s a wise flier for the O’s to take, particularly on a minor league deal. Davis had a strong slash of .268/.352/.443 from 2019 to 2023 for a wRC+ of 120, indicating he was 20% higher than the league common hitter in that point interval. For the reason that Yankees launched him, they’re paying what’s left of his contact. If the O’s choose him to the roster at any level, they are going to solely need to pay him the prorated main league minimal wage, with that quantity subtracted from what the Yankees pay.
Baltimore lately positioned each Jorge Mateo and Jordan Westburg on the injured listing, subtracting two items of their infield combine. Prospect Coby Mayo is up overlaying third base now however has six strikeouts and no hits by way of his first 12 plate appearances. Ramón Urías is there as effectively however he isn’t having a powerful season, hitting .238/.310/.370 for a wRC+ of 96 with -3 Defensive Runs Saved and -6 Outs Above Common.
If Davis can get into good kind and Mayo retains struggling, the veteran may very well be a low value repair to the issue for the O’s. Davis will presumably report back to Triple-A Norfolk within the coming days and get some common at-bats, one thing that he’s had problem discovering this yr.