Orioles first baseman/outfielder Chris Davis said today that he was disappointed that the club never approached him to discuss a new contract during the season, as Steve Melewski of MASNsports.com reports on Twitter. The 29-year-old has frequently mentioned his interest in returning to Baltimore, though a recent report indicates that his representatives and the team did not progress very far when extension talks were last broached. Regardless, it seems as if the O’s would have a good shot at wooing back the league’s home run leader — if, that is, they are willing to play at (or at least near) the top of what figures to be a lively market for his services. Davis called the lack of contact “a little frustrating,” but said that he doesn’t “have hard feelings” as free agency nears.
Here’s more from the AL East:
- This winter could be one of great change for the Orioles, and manager Buck Showalter notes that it may not come just from the players reaching free agency, as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reports. The organization has a host of players set to qualify for arbitration, and not all of them are obvious tender candidates. “A lot of decisions,” Showalter said. “I’m sure our guys have it wired about the order in which those decisions need to be made.”
- Red Sox lefty Rich Hill has spun an interesting storyline late in the season, allowing just five earned runs over 29 innings in which he owns an outstanding 36:5 strikeout-to-walk ratio. (He was also quite good in Triple-A this year, though it should be noted that he carried a more typical 4.6 BB/9 walk rate.) The 35-year-old tells WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford that he’s ready to hit the open market this winter with vigor. “I’ve never spoke like this before in the past because for me to be humble is extremely important,” he explained. “But in this part of the game you have to go out and stand up for yourself and that’s something I’m looking forward to doing in the offseason. It’s confidence. It’s going out there and saying, ’I can pitch for anybody, against anybody, anytime, anywhere.’ I feel very [full of conviction].” Hill says he is looking for a guaranteed big league deal and a legitimate shot to earn a rotation spot. It’s nearly impossible to gauge what kind of market he’ll have, but that is precisely what will make him so interesting to follow in free agency. The piece is well worth a read to see the veteran’s thoughts after an excellent and unexpected run in the Boston rotation.
Rich Hill is not going to be worth the money he gets. He will probably get something like 8 or 9 million. And he won’t replicate these numbers or anything close to this.
Also I would like to see the Sox go after Davis in FA this offseason. They need a LH and a first baseman, I don’t trust Shaw.
I’d be stunned if Hill got that much. He was great but remember he was great for 4 starts. Add to that he hasn’t had that many starts since 2009 and a long injury history and my bet is any deal he gets would be heavily incentive based that maybe tops out at $8M-$9M if all incentives are reached.
As for Davis, when was the last time a major FA offense signing worked for the Sox?
More red flags surround Davis than Sandoval had and he had enough to warrant most “smart” teams passing him by.
I disagree. The only thing Sandoval is better at than Davis is making contact and striking out less. Davis has fantastic power, good strike zone awareness, and is in good physical shape. Obviously, Sandoval plays a more important defensive position, but his defence has struggled this year, and I guess it could’ve been expected (just maybe not so soon). If Davis gets a deal under 100MM, I think any team needing a first basemen would be smart to pick him up. I think he is going to get more than that however, and that is where the issue arises.
Hill is not getting that much, lol. It has been four starts. Chances are, he probably gets a contract in the 2-3MM range with incentives to push it further. Nobody is going to pay him 8MM based on such a small sample size.
You can’t sign Davis without unloading Hanley. There’s no way they will have Davis, Ramirez and Sandoval on the payroll together and if Ramirez doesn’t play first, where is he going?
No way he gets $8 or $9 million.. He will be lucky to match Capuano’s $5 million deal.. As Draven suggests $3 million + incentives would be more like it..
I give the chance to Ramirez and Shaw to 1B next year and spent the money you would spend on Davis on a pitcher like Zimmerman!
I’d rather sign Price (doubtful) or Chen. I look at Zimmerman as Porcello II.
Zimmermann is significantly better than Chen. I’m not much of a fan of either though. I think they have to sign Price or Greinke (I’m not fond on giving Greinke more than five years) via free agency if they want to get an ace that way. Otherwise, they are better off going into the trade market to search for one.
I just think Zim will cost a lot more and does Boston want to be saddled with another mega-contract?
IMHO Rich Hill is a quality guy who has found something in his delivery that has turned his career around. It may just be that the RSox will offer him an incentive laden contract with a $3 to 5 M base and incentives to $10-13 M. $13 is what Buch’s option is for 2016 and I think DD said they would pick it up.
He made this comeback through Independent ball then in AAA so it’s not that Hill has only had 4 starts. He’s from Boston and I hope he stays in Boston.
By signing Hill it leaves open the door to trade Buch and /or Miley .
As a lifelong Sox fan I would not sign Davis. I agree Shaw and Hanley are fine @ 1B.
In other words, if scott borass gets $200 MILLION on a 4 year contract, then Chris Davis is willing to sign with Baltimore…
Davis wants to stay in Baltimore, he has said so. Baltimore wants Davis to stay in Baltimore, they have said so. The Boras factor is all that is left to resolve.
I feel the whole Boras factor is very overblown. If the Orioles make a competitive offer and Davis really wants to play for them, he will stay. Carlos Pena signed a team friendly extension to stay with the Rays a few years ago and he was a Boras client. The key is a competitive offer. Very few people will take a salary 10-20% less to do the same job just because they like their work place or co workers. Baseball players are no different.
I agree 100%. It has less to do with the player being less likely to stay because they have Boras, and more to do with players who are want the most money usually go with a guy like Boras. A lot of guys have smaller time agents so they pretty much are dedicated to them and a few other clients. Players go to Boras to get them the most money, its not that Boras seduces them like the Emperor in Star Wars.
I just don’t see Rich Hill getting over 2 MM. I would compare him to Colby Lewis coming back from Japan. He can’t be counted on because he has never done it over time. He does not throw hard, (which makes him unlikely to pitch for DD). He is also past the age you expect a pitcher to improve. I look at his upside as Jesse Chavez.
If the o’s don’t resign davis I see them being a fit for Howard