The Orioles are signing infielder J.D. Davis, reports Jon Heyman of The New York Post on X. It’s a minor league deal for Davis, per Andy Kostka of The Baltimore Banner on X. The veteran was released by the Yankees last week.
Davis 31, came into 2024 on a solid five-year run of being an above-average bat at the major league level. But this season has been an unusual one in a few different ways, which have largely been disappointing for him.
He and the Giants went to an arbitration hearing in the winter, which he won, though it turned out to be a hollow victory. The arbiter sided with him and his reps, opting for their $6.9MM salary as opposed to the $6.5MM figure the team sought. However, under the collective bargaining agreement, arb salaries are only guaranteed if the sides avoid a hearing.
The Giants then took advantage of the weak free agent market, signing both Matt Chapman and Blake Snell after they lingered in free agency into the month of March. The Chapman deal nudged Davis off his perch as the club’s regular third baseman, so they released him. Since his salary wasn’t guaranteed, the Giants only had to pay him 30 days’ termination pay, roughly $1.1MM.
Davis then went out into the aforementioned tepid free agent market and had to settle for a $2.5MM guarantee from the Athletics, far less than what he was slated to earn in San Francisco. With Oakland, he missed a couple of weeks while on the injured list with a right adductor strain and didn’t get into much of a groove around that IL stint. He hit .236/304/.366 for a wRC+ of 96 and was designated for assignment in June.
The Yankees then acquired him but didn’t give him much playing time. He was on the roster for over a month but battled an illness and only got into seven games, hitting .105/.227/.158 in those. He was designated for assignment just prior to the trade deadline but the Yanks couldn’t find a taker. Since he has more than five years of major league service time, he could have rejected an outright assignment while retaining the remainder of his salary. The Yankees skipped that formality by releasing him.
It’s undoubtedly been a rough year but it’s a sensible flier for the O’s to take, especially on a minor league deal. Davis had a robust slash of .268/.352/.443 from 2019 to 2023 for a wRC+ of 120, indicating he was 20% better than the league average hitter in that time period. Since the Yankees released him, they are paying what’s left of his contact. If the O’s select him to the roster at any point, they will only have to pay him the prorated major league minimum salary, with that amount subtracted from what the Yankees pay.
Baltimore recently placed both Jorge Mateo and Jordan Westburg on the injured list, subtracting two pieces of their infield mix. Prospect Coby Mayo is up covering third base now but has six strikeouts and no hits through his first 12 plate appearances. Ramón Urías is there as well but he isn’t having a strong season, hitting .238/.310/.370 for a wRC+ of 96 with -3 Defensive Runs Saved and -6 Outs Above Average.
If Davis can get into good form and Mayo keeps struggling, the veteran could be a low cost fix to the problem for the O’s. Davis will presumably report to Triple-A Norfolk in the coming days and get some regular at-bats, something that he’s had difficulty finding this year.