27 year-old Indians reliever Jason Davis was designated for assignment on Monday, so the clock is ticking for Mark Shapiro to trade him. As a healthy, cheap pitcher with good control, Davis will draw plenty of interest.
Davis would like to return to starting after spending all of 2006 as a reliever. Like a lot of pitchers, Davis could really blossom in the National League. He gets plenty of groundballs and can keep his walk rate under 3 per nine.
Paul Hoynes of the Cleveland Plain Dealer speculates that the Tigers, Blue Jays, Royals, Phillies, Giants, Reds, Braves, and Nationals would all make sense. His speculation considers Davis a reliever, so you can really open it up to most teams in baseball if you think of him as a starter. The Marlins, Braves, and Astros all have a need for starting pitching help. If I’m Davis’s agent, I’m campaigning for him to join Atlanta and try to work his way into a rotation spot. Of course, for pure opportunity you can’t beat the Nationals. Somehow, though, I have a feeling that Omar Minaya will snag him just for depth.
