Believe it or not, a veteran’s stay in free agency did not last long. Around a week after the San Francisco Giants released him, J.D. Davis is signing with the Oakland Athletics, according to. Mark Feinsand. The deal is worth $2.5 million for 2024, and Davis will be a free agent again after the season.
JD Davis has agreed to terms on a one-year deal with the A’s worth $2.5 million plus $1 million in incentives, per source. @ByRobertMurray & @Ken_Rosenthal were on it.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) March 16, 2024
Davis was released by the Giants last week after the team’s signing of Matt Chapman. As a right-handed, bat-first corner infielder with limited skills, Davis quickly became redundant for the Giants. San Francisco initially placed the veteran on waivers, but no team claimed him because they did not want to take on his salary. When all is said and done, Davis is signing with the TEAM on a deal below what he won in arbitration.
J.D. Davis, A’s Agree To Deal
Davis, 31 in late April, is coming off a solid season. He tallied career-highs in games, at-bats, doubles, and RBI. Overall, he hit .248/.325/.413 (103 OPS+) with 18 homers in a tough home ballpark for right-handed hitters.
While his overall numbers look average, some underlying metrics view Davis favorably. According to Statcast, Davis was among the best in the league at hitting the ball hard (he ranked well in both Average Exit Velocity and Hard-Hit percentage). He did not chase too many pitches out of the zone and produced a slightly better-than-league-average walk rate.
J.D. gets the Giants on the board with a three-run blast 💥 pic.twitter.com/pIma0tcByo
— SF Giants on NBCS (@NBCSGiants) March 1, 2024
Davis has been raking this spring. In 17 plate appearances, Davis hit .400 with a 1.271 OPS and two homers. However, remember that Spring Training numbers don’t mean much, and neither do regular small sample sizes.
Which Davis Will A’s Get?
Davis might not be an everyday player on a great team, but he is a better-than-average hitter with regular at-bats. Davis is signing with Oakland for a chance to be in the lineup around five days a week, either in the field or at DH. This likely represents the best way to use Davis and maximize his value.
That said, the responsibility falls on Davis to produce more consistently. For example, Davis was a fringe All-Star with his first-half production last season. He hit .277/.350/.450 with a 121 wRC+ and 11 homers in 321 plate appearances.
After the All-Star break, Davis hit just .204 with seven homers in 225 plate appearances. While his season’s overall production looks decent-to-average, 2023 was a tale of two halves for Davis.
outside of the moral compass of the situation, it's bad to cut a 2.2 win player to save 5.8 million dollars. he was under valued to begin with.
soler was a 1.9 win player and they're paying him 10. murphy produced 0.8 and they're paying him 4. cutting him is a bad baseball move. https://t.co/dfjqDTOBPk
— patrick (@broeyramone) March 13, 2024
For his career, Davis is a .261/.343/.432 hitter that averages 24 doubles and 19 homers over 162 games. Davis will be important for his new team if he can produce something like his career norms.
A change of scenery could easily do Davis well. Something has failed to click with the Giants. Much chatter surrounded former manager Gabe Kapler and how many players were unhappy playing for him.
While new skipper Bob Melvin is known as one of the better player-managers in the game, Davis might benefit from new eyes, voices, and culture. Davis is signing with the Athletics to re-establish his value and prove what type of player he is before heading to free agency next offseason.
Main Photo Credits: Rick Scuteri-USA TODAY Sports
