10:07am: ESPN’s Buster Olney tweets that the Orioles didn’t raise their most recent offer to Davis — “not one nickel,” as his source put it. Not only that, but Baltimore’s offer to Davis is no longer on the table, according to Olney, though he adds that they’re willing to pick up the past thread of talks. MASNsports.com’s Roch Kubatko tweets that a club source denies their offer was increased as well.
DEC. 10, 8:40am: Baltimore has reportedly increased its offer to Davis, tweets Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, who hears they may be willing to go as high as $168MM over seven years — a $24MM average annual value. It’s uncertain whether or not the previously reported deferrals are still included in the revamped offer.
It was reported last night that Davis is seeking as much as $200MM over an eight-year term.
DEC. 9: Baltimore’s previously-reported offer of around $150MM was for seven years, Buster Olney of ESPN.com reports on Twitter. The O’s are “currently not willing” to exceed a $22MM average annual value to Davis, Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun reports on Twitter. The Orioles’ offer may also have some deferred money involved, per Kubatko.
As was recently reported, the team may not be willing to wait forever for Davis to decide and is pursuing other options as well.
DEC. 8: Orioles owner Peter Angelos and executive VP Dan Duquette have made their desire to retain Chris Davis abundantly clear, and Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com sheds some light on just how serious they are in their quest to retain Davis, tweeting that the Orioles offered their former first baseman “in the neighborhood” of $150MM at today’s previously reported meeting with agent Scott Boras. Despite the sizable nature of that offer, talks between the two sides have yet to progress, Kubatko adds.
The reported offer is a staggering number from an Orioles organization that has never given out a contract larger than the six-year, $86.5MM contract signed by Adam Jones back in 2012. Of course, it’s not known how long the term of that contract is, and the differences between a six-year, $150MM offer and a seven- or eight-year $150MM offer are considerable from the perspective of Davis and Boras.
The 29-year-old Davis is the top power bat on the open market, as he leads the Majors in homers over the past three seasons. He’s also considered to be a plus defender at first base, and ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick recently wrote that some scouts consider him athletic enough to play a competent, albeit below-average corner outfield for a season or two should a team need to play him there in order to wait for a spot at first base to open up.
Given Boras’ history with top-tier free agents, it’s perhaps not surprising to see Davis pass on an early offer of that magnitude. Nevertheless, the offer does seem to demonstrate legitimate interest on Baltimore’s behalf, when at the onset of the 2015-16 offseason, most believed that the team did not possess the financial flexibility to keep Davis in Maryland. That line of thinking was strengthened when Matt Wieters accepted a qualifying offer and when the Orioles struck a four-year, $31MM agreement to retain setup ace Darren O’Day.
In spite of those costly contracts, the Orioles seem to be firmly in the thick of the still-developing market for Davis. The Cardinals have also been linked to Davis, and the Red Sox are said to have had internal discussions about him as well (though they’d first need to move Hanley Ramirez). ESPN’s Buster Olney also reported last month that the Giants have interest in Davis.
I don’t want to imagine Davis playing a corner OF spot in ATT Park, but I can’t figure where else he would fit on the Giants.
I can figure on him being at 1B instead of Belt….
lol
Dear God, no.
Not going to happen. Dont listen to anything reported by Olney.
Belt can play left
A lot of money for a player who’s had 3 inconsistent seasons. But that’s what happens when you’re one of the top free agents at your position, and a position high in demand… And a Boras client lol.
Inconsistent? He’s won the HR crown in 2 of the last 3 years. I guess that’s inconsistent from a certain perspective?
He was terrible that other year, though.
He hit 26 HRs and 72 RBIs in 127 games during his terrible year. Still reasonably productive for a terrible year.
Was that the year he forgot to get his prescription for his PEDs?
The ped was adderall not steroids. Adderall does not help u bulken up or hit a baseball.
Highly arguable. Concentration is a pretty huge part of hitting a baseball…
He also strikes out like its his job.
C’mon, if you break it down, its only like $100K a strikeout over the life of the deal.
I’ll happily strike out for a heck of a lot less than that!
He hit .270 with 33HRs and 85 RBI’s in 2012
in 2013 he hit 280 with 53 HRs and 138 RBIs
In 2014 he hit 1.96 with 25 HRs and 72 RBIs
In 2015 he hit .262 with 47 HRs and 117 RBIs
Other than 2014, his AVG has pretty much hovered around the same area since hes been in Baltimore. Had he played all of 2014, he would have hit 30+ Hrs for 4 straight years. He plays pretty good defense at both corner infield and outfield positions. How is he inconsistent?
Inconsistent???? Lmaooooo. Led league in home runs in 2 of them and was suspended for 40 games in the other season where he still hit 27 bombs. Hysterical
Hate to see the O’s and Angelos end up signing this guy to such a massive deal after they gave Albert Bell that big one and got stuck with it, turned Angelos off on big deals for over a decade and might again when this one turns sour after a couple of years. I really hope someone else ups the offer really quick. Duquette is too smart to sign this guy IMO. He’s got to know this guy is a bust waiting to happen.
insurance covered most of that belle contract
If in fact that is true my hats off to PA for giving a more than reasonable offer.if he wants more let him walk
Well, since the O’s are bidding against themselves they should just stop. That’s likely to be an overpay already.
If the O’s were bidding against themselves then Davis and Boras would have accepted the O’s offer by now.
Clearly you know nothing of the history of borass and his lies.
Agreed. Should’ve stopped at 7/$150M.
Looks like you may be right since it’s reported the O’s pulled their offer. Maybe they realized they were bidding against themselves.
What the h, he should have just accepted it. Thats prob more than what he deserves and also will be more than what Cespedes and Gordon will get. Hes not worth more than them.
There are the likes of Carter / Alvarez / Davis (Ike) out there.
That won’t cost as much.
I think it’d be wiser to wait things out since
the Rangers seem willing to trade Price
the Brewers seem willing to trade Lind
There seems to be a surplus of first basemans out there.
Let the other takers take their low cost options first.
Low ball Boras if there aren’t enought takers for these guys.
150 million for a guy 1 season removed from hitting .196????
Well, I still say let him go.
Get Cueto or Gordon or Heyward.
Let Boars and Davis enjoy each others company for awhile
Its almost as silly as giving a pitcher $90M coming of a 4.97 era season. Oh wait …
I am skeptical that this is a serious offer on the O’s part. From a PR perspective, it’s probably the O’s trying to save face by showing the public an offer that they probably knew would not be accepted. I’ll believe that they’re serious about spending money, when they actually spend it. Not when they are talking about spending it. I mean, the O’day contract isn’t even final yet is it? Wouldn’t be surprised to see that get shot down for some reason..
I think its a serious offer, they’ve laid it on the table and now are waiting. They did trot Buck out over the past couple of days and, in at least one place, he’s said the clock is on for Davis. However, I completely agree that this is primarily a face saving procedure. Davis is looking for $25 million a year, someone will offer that to secure him…maybe more.
Nobody is giving Chris Davis $25M/per. You’re insane.
Davis is a huge gamble at that kind of money. I’d rather take my chances with a change-of-scenery Chris Carter or Pedro Alvarez.
The Orioles need to fix their disaster of a pitching staff. They can let Davis go, get a cheap replacement 1B and sign like 3 pitchers.
Red Sox don’t NEED to move Hanley Ramirez. Just throw him in LF… I’m kidding. Honestly, throw Chris Davis in the OF for a season and allow Hanley Ramirez time to work up his trade value. Better yet… Davis at 1B, Hanley at 3B, and Panda shipped out of Boston.
LOL…. Davis isn’t half the player Texieria was in his prime and look at what he has given the Yankees since signing that deal. This has epic fail written all over it.
Davis had led the league in home runs two out of the last three years. Teixeira has never come close to that. Teixeira was a very good player early in his career who has become an oft injured, very streaky player. Davis is more of a late bloomer.
Teixeria is a 25+ WAR player over the same period that Chris Davis has been in the bigs. That’s over a 10 WAR difference between them in the 2008-2015 timeframe.
Bora$$ and Davis are nuts asking what they’re asking.
That’s a false way of looking at it. You should look at their recent history, not their whole history. Since 2012, Teixeira has had a WAR of 8.4. Over the same time period, Davis has had WAR of 15.1. That’s what is significant. Teixeira’s career is nearly over. Davis on the other hand appears to be a late bloomer. Not saying the O’s should sign him at that amount, but it’s hard to argue that if other players are getting crazy amounts of money that Davis shouldn’t also having led the league in home runs the past two out of three years, among other things.
How many years? Without knowing the length you can’t tell if it’s a good deal. For 8 it would be a great deal. At 7 it would be fair given the deals given out this winter.
Either way, it’s a large overpay in my book. Either they’re offering him an undeserved AAV, or they’re offering to pay him top dollar into his late 30’s, which is almost always a big mistake. Most teams need to learn to cap the guaranteed years of these massive deals at age 36 or maybe 37 at the most if you want to stretch.
Ryan Howard esque
Anybody who thinks the Red Sox can simply ship away Sandoval or Ramirez to make room for Davis is an idiot. Dombrowski and the rest of the front office in Boston is stuck with both of those guys unless they can find somebody as st stupid as Cherrington was to sign both of them for big bucks over the long term. If they had takers for either one they’d already be gone. Nobody outside of New England is willing to foot the bill for either one.
Pablo to the Dodgers for Carl Crawford. Let’s do this!
Well….. That put the Cheap skate Cardinals OUT !!! They are NOT SPENDING COMPETITIVE MONEY!!! Moz is out of touch with current price values of top notched players.
Good thing to…way too much to spend on a one-dimensional player.
7/150 won’t get it done, Baltimore. 6/150 probably would. You’re going to have to go over $22M a year to sign him.
If that’s so then they should probably let him walk. The Orioles have to be more careful about their spending, and there are other options than just Chris Davis.
Davis is inconsistent and strikes out a lot so O s need to explore other options.
Does he not remind you of Ryan Howard a bit? I would pass so fast..spend a little more and go after Jason Heyward get a buy low option like Pedro Alvarez for first
Davis is a solid player but these contracts are out of control, perfect example of the players thinking more about the dollars they can shove in their pockets then the fan base and the fact that they are playing a kid’s game…greedy!
No mention of the Rockies going after Davis. I know, I know. Rockies aren’t contenders. But how else are they gonna fill the stands?
Disclaimer–‘not a Rockies fan
And where will their ace come from after spending all this money?
Please let Davis go. Chris Carter and Pedro Alvarez might do better with a change of scenery
He wants 200 million…he done bumped his head.ill take 70000 a year and pretty sure i can hit .200 and play first base
Unless you have some collegiate experience in baseball (which maybe you do idk) I doubt you could hit .200 and get picks at first and other things considering
You took the words right out my mouth, Michigan. THIS GUY!
Well 355k is the ML minimim salary so its nice that hes willing to take a voluntary pay cut!
But yeah hitting 200 against ML pitching would be as likely for me as growing a third buttcheek.
This reminds me of The Most Dangerous Game.
These figures are staggering for someone who is 1 year removed from batting under the Mendoza line. Someone who also is among the league leaders is K’s. Telling Adam “dont call me pacman” Jones Chris Davis makes double his salary will probably piss him off, it would for me haha.. This has awful signing written all over it
They are making a final push so they know if they should draft Balbino Fuenmayor as a platoon partner in the rule 5 instead.
Take it Chris. You won’t see anymore anywhere else.
Sox / Yanks / Diamondbacks / Dodgers / Tigers
He should take it since the big dogs seem tapped out or don’t want him.
Don’t understand why the Orioles don’t down play this considering that the likes of
Carter / Alvarez / Davis (Ike) / Fielder
are out there.
Why in the world do they think they can win the division with close to 0 pitching?
Sign Carter or Alvarez for less and use the left over money to sign a pitcher or two..
$200 million over 8 years?
Somebody might pay it. I can think of a couple clubs that have the capacity, but I don’t see it happening. Orioles will probably take the offer off the table after next week. Scott Boras is bad for baseball.
He’s good for his clients so he does have a place in baseball.
Offer pulled. That could spell trouble as Boras does not appreciate defiance. I think the Os made an offer good enough for Davis and am with them on moving on. If Heyward, Upton, and Cespedes sign Davis will get more expensive. So forget Davis and sign Heyward, Upton, or Cespedes.
GOOD FOR THE O’S!!
How about it. The O’s are smart for walking away, use this money for something better.
Chris Davis is a good player but a teams going to be crazy if they give him 200mil.
he wants more per year than Miguel Cabrera?
Didn’t Cabrera’s extension add 8 years for $248 mil? That’s $31 mil per…
IF Cardinals lose out on Heyward – I could see a fit with STL
otherwise not sure what his market is?
who has $24 mil available in their 2016 budget?
Orioles fans say good-bye to Chris Davis, say hello to Justin Upton!!
He’s going to get 1 year, $15MM late in spring training.
Doubt it. If he doesn’t sign he will probably wait until after the draft to lose his compensation.
Makes you really appreciate a guy like Adam Jones much more. Both guys given a chance to play full time for the first time. Adam Jones gives back to the city. Now we do not have to hear the boos when he strikes out like I have heard about Arod from Yankee fans. We all know he will strike out about 30% of the time. Good luck finding that goose that lays golden eggs Chris Davis.
I would rather have Nick M. back. Atl is willing to trade everyone call them up! 33m/3 years a guy that is going to give you an .800 ops.
I’m in for that, never should have let him go
Markakis hasn’t had an .800 OPS since 2012. Not even close really.
If this is true and they stick to it, good for them
Way to dig your own grave Boras. Have fun accepting a 1 year offer now and doing this all again next year.
I know he doesn’t put up the HR’s as Davis but I would like to see the Braves ship over Freeman and throw in Markakis and/or Teheran too. Finish tearing apart the big league club to work this rebuild and help fill some holes for Baltimore.
No way the Braves are trading Freeman. The O’s would have to give them Schoop, Gausman and Bundy for the Braves to trade just Freeman. Even that might not get it done.
Based on their logic for trading Simmons, there is no reason to hold on to Freeman. There is no reason to hide it just being a salary dump move either. I have no idea what the roster looks like on the MLb level and no clue to what their minor league system looks like but I would like to see Markakis spend his contract playing for a team with a chance and Freeman too.
The Braves have a very strong minor league system, especially in terms of pitching. They could be the next Royals, Mets or Astros in terms of all the young talent they have, even after the Simmons trade. I kind of agree they should trade Freeman strictly from a talent perspective, but there a few reasons they won’t imo: 1) Freeman is only 26, so he will likely still be in his prime when the Braves are ready to compete again. 2) The Braves have a lot of young pitching depth but they are a lot thinner in terms of hitting, even after acquiring Olivera from the Dodgers and Swanson from the DBacks. In fact, if they should trade anyone it should probably be Olivera, assuming he eventually starts to hit well. 3) Freeman is the face of the franchise now.
Hope Davis can back w/Orioles. The offer is very reasonable & he kills in Camden Yards.