Yankees center fielder Aaron Hicks was cleared to resume baseball activities today and, according to manager Aaron Boone, won’t need a rehab stint that mirrors Spring Training’s six-week length (Twitter link via Bryan Hoch of MLB.com). However, Hicks is still multiple weeks away from surfacing as an option for the injury-plagued Yankees, whose outfield currently consists of Aaron Judge, Brett Gardner and Clint Frazier. Hicks, Giancarlo Stanton and Jacoby Ellsbury are among the 11 players New York currently has on the injured list.
More from the AL East…
- WEEI.com’s Rob Bradford explores the manner in which Xander Bogaerts’ $120MM extension with the Red Sox came together. As agent Scott Boras explained, the Sox had made previous overtures during Bogaerts’ arbitration seasons, but the two sides had never been on the same page. Part of that, per Boras, was a belief that Bogaerts’ offense was eventually going to jump to the level it did last season. A greater driving factor, as Boras tells it, was Boston’s eventual willingness to include an opt-out clause to sweeten the deal. The opt-out not only gives Bogaerts the chance to reevaluate the Red Sox in a few years but more importantly provides him another bite at the free-agent apple. “He’s going to be a 29-year-old free agent,” Boras said. Both president of baseball ops Dave Dombrowski and Boras noted that Bogaerts had a strong desire to stay in Boston, which pushed the deal across the finish line in the end.
- Chris Davis’ season is already off to a nightmare start, Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun writes. The 33-year-old is off to an 0-for-17 start with 11 strikeouts and four walks through 21 plate appearances, including three punchouts in today’s home opener. Davis spoke to reporters after the game and conceded that he wasn’t surprised to be met with a chorus of boos after his third strikeout of the game but noted that it was still “tough” to hear even if Orioles fans are rightful in expressing their displeasure. Rookie manager Brandon Hyde voiced support of the beleaguered slugger and said he plans to continue playing Davis and trying to put him in advantageous matchups to get him going. Davis’ teammates spoke positively of him as well. “He’s one of the better teammates that I’ve had in my time in the big leagues,” said Alex Cobb. “I know he cares so much. To feel that in front of your own fans, I can’t even imagine.”
All joking aside, how does a professional athlete get so bad so quickly. I was shocked when they gave Davis that contract. However, I would have never guessed he would be this futile at the plate. It’s perplexing that he can no longer make contact with a baseball.
Maybe he needs the contacts like Steph lol
Performance enhancing drugs when money is on the line
One word. Adderall.
Weird that he only tested positive when he was terrible in 2014.
That’s exactly what it is. The adderall I’m sure improved his focus. He supposedly used it for years, so much so that when he got caught he continued despite knowing what it would cost to get caught, and the getting caught was inevitable. Without it, he might as well be missing his dominant eye.
He used it when he was terrible, never allowed, or tested positive when he was going well. More likely it caused his demise than his success.
Just because he was never caught with it when he did well doesnt mean he wasnt using it to do well
He had a prescription for it and he now has an exception for Vyvanse, which is an extended release aderall replacement. It amazes me how people read what they want to out of a story and then for years recite what they want to believe as fact. He failed to apply for and receive an exception in 2014 before he took the test.
I thought he was allowed to take it because he got a prescription?
First off, Adderall doesn’t do that. Couldn’t come close to that kind of performance difference. Second, he had a prescription before that, which MLB allowed, and didn’t renew it and still tested positive. MLB, at least then, and I believe now, approved those with a prescription to use it. He probably is back on it, with a prescription. I’m not a fan, he’s just bad.
*and then tested positive. Adderall was allowed with a current prescription. Believe it still is
He takes adderall today so anyone with their wild theory that it was his wonder drug is incorrect. He didn’t get a TUE the year he got popped.
Adderall does increase performance significantly. Davis very publicly switched to Vyvanse after being caught. Vyvanse is slow release so it is hard to dose it for performance enhancement spikes. Adderall is like a nitro boost of concentration, whereas Vyvanse is like a steady drip of nerve calming solution.
Also he got popped in 2014, and 2015 was one of his best seasons. So it’s not the lack of his drug.
Adderall absolutely is a performance enhancer. I no longer do it, but when I was a high volume bartender I’d do them every night before the rush. They’d put you right into “the zone”. I’d be on a full sprint and a memory like an elephant (unless elephant memories were some bs story I read about years ago and still chose to recite as fact ). When I got clean I couldn’t keep up night after night anymore (after 30). I’ll believe forever that his struggles when he first bounced back n forth between minors and majors before his breakout lead him to find adderall and that it made a huge difference in his performance. Of course his sharp decline around the same time as suspensions could be coincidental, and I have no actual knowledge of his lifestyle or life choices but I can make a solid educated guess
This is a perfect example of why you don’t invest in aging, one dimensional sluggers. When you have no other skills to back up on than hitting the ball hard (not hitting it consistently, not running the bases well, not playing good defense or an important defensive position), you can fall off the map REAL quick. Look at Pujols, Josh Hamilton. Ryan Howard. Compare that to Jayson Heyward who, while being an extreme disappointment, at least he plays solid defense and can run the bases when he’s not hitting the ball well
Pujols was not one dimensional. You just put pujols in a list of players who had declines not because of age but because all they can do is homer. Pujols did more than homer.
Pujols is one of the greatest players of all time. What a terrible example to make.
It’s a great example of a long, heavy contract for an old, heavy slugger. Say what you will about Pujols’s Cardinals years, he’s terrible now and would hang them up if he didn’t have all the guaranteed money. Now we all get to watch him embarrass his former all-star self.
Where is Josh Hamilton? I thought of him the other day. Now that he doesn’t make a ton of $ and have mlb handlers, is he a drug maniac, or still trying to live healthy?
Did you just say pujols is 1 dimensional and Hayward is not?!
Awful, just awful to include Pujols as a one-dimensional hitter. He hit for power, average, walked, was a gold glove caliber 1B and one of the better baserunners in baseball. Despite his decline during his time in LA, he will go down as a top 3-5 1B ever. In my opinion, Gehrig, Foxx, Pujols then everyone else. Musial is excluded because he played more games in OF than 1B,
FYI, Davis was not (and is not) one-dimensional. He has always been an above-average first basemen defensively. Interviews with his teammates through the past several seasons will attest to how much they thought of his glovework and how he made them better. His fall from glory is not just epic, it’s unprecedented. Even those who believed he wasn’t worth the contract he received could not have predicted this level of futility because it just doesn’t happen.
The 200+ strikeouts in 15, 199 in 13, an OPS+ below 100 in 14 to go with a previous suspension(even though that may not have much to do with his performance, it’s impossible to know from the outside) really should have been a sign that the future wasn’t so bright.
Because theyre going up against other top level professional athletes. The game constantly changes and players either adapt or the get chewed up and spit out. I dont think its only that Davis got worse but that pitchers found out a very successful strategy against him. Im sure Davis is till physically very strong and Im sure Davis would still mash against A+ level pitchers. Its just that his competition in the ML level is outmatching him (and getting older doesnt really help)
Getting older is, hopefully, the one thing we all get to do. The alternative (being dead) is much worse for one’s performance.
Debatable in davis’ case. Even a corpse could match that batting line.
A weekend at bernie’s style batter (the pitcher can’t know he’s dead and just groove fastballs to be fair) could likely draw 4 walks, just by not swinging at anything at all, while still opening up hitless for the season.
Comment of the day
The Orioles are one of the very last teams in baseball to embrace modern analytics, which include recording tons of data about pitcher and hitter tendencies, including how hitters and pitchers respond in at-bats.
The Red Sox, Rays and Yankees are way ahead of the curve in this stuff, using detailed analysis of every at-bat to exploit weaknesses. (Along with a bunch of teams that aren’t in the AL East, of course). The O’s are at a massive disadvantage when it comes to this stuff, and of course it’s going to spill down to the players on the field. There’s something the smarter teams have discovered about Davis that the O’s, because they’re bringing up the rear, have not discovered. And the smart teams are using this treasure trove of data to dominate Davis. And the O’s can’t catch up.
The smart teams did the same thing to Schoop, Wieters, Adam Jones…..the list can keep going. When you don’t bother with assembling a decent, modern analytics department until way after everyone else, you’re going to be stuck behind the proverbial 8-ball, and your players will suffer for it. It’s no surprise how rapidly the O’s have declined in this regard – the other teams have way more answers than they do.
Alright that’s a little far fetched. Schoop had a great year in 2017. he got off to a putrid start in 2018 but was ripping the cover off the baseball in BALTIMORE when he got traded. Send him off to Milwaukee and he was absolutely terrible. Wieters has been hot garbage since he left. And what about jones? He was as consistent as ever in Baltimore. His power went down last year and that’s the only thing that changed. Besides his declining defensive skills. I don’t suppose you want to tell me that that’s because of analytics? I’m gonna say that had a lot more to do with the age curve.
To suggest analytics was the cause of these players to decline is crazy. I don’t know how that argument holds weight with our hitters. Until you see orioles hitters going off and tearing the baseball up elsewhere I’m going to have a real real hard time buying that our lack of analytics killed them.
It’s far fetched and ignorant. Chris Davis got away with a hole in his swing in his 20’s and he still hasn’t fixed the problem. Now that he’s north of 30 he’s having a harder time with certain pitches in certain locations. He gets behind in counts and starts chasing. He has probably also become more of a guess hitter as he’s aged. Pujols has become a guess hitter as he’s aged.
No chance this has to do with Analytics.
Well, I mean, the teams who got on board early with more contemporary analytics are the better teams in baseball, even the ones with smaller payrolls like the Rays and A’s and Brewers. The O’s famously didn’t do anything in the international market for years and didn’t really build out their analytics department until very recently. They used a very outmoded model of roster construction and even drafting.
The way contemporary analytics, especially using statcast data and poitch f/x stuff, has allowed players to alter the way they hit and look at pitches. There’s a perfect example in Christian Yelich; when he was in Miami they didn’t bother messing with his swing or probably even understand that for a guy that hits the ball as hard as Yelich, he should have been hitting for more power. They shipped him to Milwaukee, and the smart people in the front office realized how good Yelich was at barreling balls, how hard he hit everything, and were able to use that data to filter down through the coaches to Yelich himself, and he’s basically slugged something like 600 since he joined the Brewers. There’s also even more granular stuff, like recognizing pitch types more quickly. The A’s did a similar thing with Khris Davis. The O’s haven’t managed to figure out how to fix whatever the problems were with Chris Davis’ swing because they didn’t care enough to utilize all the data available to them.
Your Yelich example just destroyed your entire argument. If you can’t get the barrel on the baseball, you can’t hit. Davis can’t seem to barrel up (thanks to that hole/hitch in his swing, among other things).
That was easy. Didn’t need elaborate statistics or math problems to solve this.
So you can’t imagine a scenario in which people analyzing data with fresh eyes could help a batter out? Perhaps if the O’s had cared about that stuff they could have fixed that hitch or the hole, or at least used trackman or statcast data to help him identify pitches better, right? In Yelich’s case, he had the skills to be an elite hitter for power – as does Davis – but the Marlins couldn’t recognize it, while the Brewers could, and did, and fixed his swing in a way to increase his power.
But if you could find the hole with analytics, you could fix it when he was young. Too Late now.
I wish I remembered who, but a guest on MLB Central dropped a piece of information I had never heard before that probably explains the new normals in the baseball age curve better than anything else…
Humans begin to lose visual acuity (translation, the eyes start getting worse) at age 29.
So, while the focus was always on strength and endurance gains, the main value of steroids might have been it’s effect on eyesight. Eric Byrnes has mentioned on many occasions that PED users have told him that “they never saw the ball better” than when using. The eye is a muscle, too.
The inability to track 98 mph fastballs and 87 mph sliders is likely the main reason we now see such dramatic drops in performance from 30+ year old players.
I agree. Davis was always a guy with a big swing and miss game. As the eyes, bat speed and body have gotten slower it’s gotten much worse. The shift didn’t do him any favors. And It’s definitely mental now also. The guy has no confidence at the plate at all.
It’s time to make David part of a full blown platoon. The Orioles need a good right-handed first baseman to give Davis days off vs. LHP. And then a good left-handed hitting 1b to give him days off vs RHP…
I bet Orioles owner regrets giving him that contract. Good luck unloading that one. Reminds me of Chris Carter. David really needs to make adjustments. Sad to see how bad he got
If Orioles release him, does anyone sign him at major league minimum and give him a roster spot? Nope!
Davis has always been a heavy strikeput guy. Hes been one of those guys I viewed as a flash in the pan. Look at his lines with Texas and they are similar. That one year he just hit a lot of homeruns. Hes basically Adam Dunn but way less likeable.
Chris Davis is the most fascinating player in baseball
what happened to craig kimbrel 100M mega deal?
It’s kind of odd that they started him against Paxton today, especially considering they pinch hit for him when they brought in Britton.
Agreed – and “odd” is being charitable. He has no business on the field, much less against a LH like that.
He can’t hit a left hander, he can’t hit a right hander. It doesn’t matter. It was more of a respect thing to start him on opening day at home. Our alternative was a
Rule 5 draft pick or hanser Alberto since Mullins can’t bat right handed right now. Both likely better options (only because anyone is) but we didn’t exactly bench anyone decent for him to play today. I think this was his last opening day as an oriole personally. I think the plug gets pulled when Mark Trumbo returns barring some unforeseen rebound.
More Boras talking out of both sides of his mouth speak: “he had a strong desire to remain in Boston”, yet it seems was insistent upon the opt out clause and talks up the fact Bogaerts will again become a FA at the age of 29 when he uses it after year 3 of the deal.
This guy is another Johnny Cochran born liar.
Bogaerts gave you three prime year of Bogaerts for 60MM. Find me a better deal in free agency than that. Bogaerts clearly did want to stay in Boston or an extension wouldn’t have been reached. Boras encourages everyone of his clients to hit the open market to maximize their earnings. He certainly didn’t push bogey towards an extension. This is not an opportunity to bash boras. You may want to head over to the Keuchel threads if that’s your desire.
Never said wasn’t a good deal and was one of the 1st to post it on the topic he signed the extension on, another of the ones u infiltrate (red sox) as a Yankee fan to spread drivel.
My point was, as have long said that Bogaerts wants to remain in Boston and if u bothered to read the quote from Boras, that he seems quite happy and was insistent upon the opt out after 3y, which am pretty certain was his idea all along as it seems was the sticking point all along from what have read in other articles.
BTW.. it’s always a topic to bash Boras… Wanna be next again?
I don’t even know what the hell you’re saying. And I’m certainly not a Yankees fan. Anytime a player signs an extension w Boras you can bet it was the player that was driving that decision, not Boras.
Boras is talking out of both sides of his mouth? Boras as his agent strongly advised for an opt out. As a good agent should. Bogaerts wanted to be in Boston hence the agreement to the extension. Boras’ responsibility is to maximize the players earnings and the opt out does just that. Bogaerts can currently be happy in Boston and be able to leave or earn at a higher rate down the line as well. Boras is just doing his job. Plain and simple.
It’s 5 mill more than any other short stop not named machado and he’s no machado. If you’re paying for d that’s a huge over reach for an extension, usually they are mutual. This is definitely the time to bash boras, and one of few we get to bash dd
That’s because no SS has gotten paid yet. Wait til lindor, Correa, Baez, and the like get their deals. They’ll all easily double what Bogaerts just got. And your math is pretty bad. Machado 10/300 Bogaerts 6/120. That’s 10 mil a year difference. Or 50% more than bogey’s annual salary.
I can not stand Boras John silver. I think he fills his guys with all inflated opinions of themselves. Bogaets saw the writing on the wall, the big payday only comes to certain players.
I don’t think Boras is doing anything tricky or inconsistent with what he’s saying here at all. Bogaerts signed an extension with Boston because he wants to be in Boston. That opt out gives him more leverage in a few years to a.) negotiate more money with the Red Sox/a higher value extension if using the opt out makes sense. b.) Leave Boston if he can’t negotiate more money with Boston and his performance makes him worth more. Or c.) leave Boston if he doesn’t want to be there when the opt out comes up. Just because a person deeply desires being somewhere in the present doesn’t mean they have to feel the same way years down the road.
2011 Adam Dunn or 2018 Chris Davis? Who’s worse?
Davis and that says a lot. At least Dunn was able to get on base. Davis cannot even do that
Probably Davis. Not relevant to 2011 but at least Dunn was able to come back as a useful hitter after that debacle. Davis is cooked.
Didn’t Chris Davis get busted for not having a medical exemption for Adderall?
It seem like his downfall came shortly after that, if I’m remembering correctly.
He continues to use Adderall today. So that doesn’t explain it.
Did you test him personally and did you wear rubber gloves?
Let’s just hope he asked if he was allergic to latex.
After Davis’ positive test for Adderall, he indeed received a TUE for it. If he is actually using it to treat ADHD, it’s probably not medically safe or wise for him to stop taking it.
Nope, he takes Vyvanse now, which is NOT Adderall.
Vyvanse and Adderall are both amphetamines (a type of stimulant medication), so they work in much the same way. They stimulate the nervous system and increase the amount of neurotransmitters such as dopamine and norepinephrine in the brain.
There have been 81,892 players who have taken the field (non-pitcher) as a MLB player. Last year, Chris Davis had the 11th worst single season WAR of any of that have played before him.
Baltimore will be paying him until 2037…
Ouch.
*81,892 players since 1901
*That* is a cool stat…and it demonstrates how ridiculous that contract was for Davis, as the O’s bid against themselves…AND there were all sorts of warning signs and red flags that his one-dimensional offerings were fools gold.
This contract kept them from having a chance to keep Machado. It was a dumb contract, but there was an overwhelming push from fans to havevrhe front office so it, too. They also signed a similar player the next winter in Trumbo. Horrible. No one was. Impeding with them on that contract.
Fans…the Bain of the league!
You’re right….Baltimore fans were ready to sting up Angelos if he didn’t sign Davis to a huge contract after his breakout walk year.
Just goes to show you, when its not your money,,,,,it’s easy to make demands and tell somebody how dumb they are for not following your advice.
In the old days, they were called “arm chair QB’s”!
Not a big surprise at all. I didn’t hear anybody that liked this signing when it happened . The facts where right in the O’s face and they still gave him a ridiculous contract.
Davis is a bit like late-career Adam Dunn. The contract was always an overreach, but it’s very strange how rapidly he declined. He looks completely lost, almost Steve Blass-like except with a bat in his hand. I doubt he’s completely finished, and with that amount of money left on his contract, he’s still going to get some chances.
This Steve Blass comparison was made today on Buster Olney’s podcast. That seems oddly coincidental. Either this post is by Karl Ravech or he cribbed your comp for the podcast. What an odd thing either way.
I think what’s more frustrating with Davis is the fact that as an Orioles fan, I know as soon as they do something like release him and he signs with another team, he’s going to start hitting the cover off the ball again…. misery never ends..
I have a theory on chris davis. I think he was using PEDs of some kind and quit after he got paid. Would be pretty sad if that were the case, but maybe he doesn’t want to jeopardize 10 million dollars with a potential half season suspension if he were to contuniue using and get caught, it’s not worth the risk anymore
Davis definitely needs a break.
Would it be crazy to suggest a kind of “reverse Loewen” or Rick Ankiel scenario where Davis goes down to extended ST or the low minors to pitch for a while?
Not saying he’d be any good, but that could be a way for Davis to keep playing the game, provide leadership to a young clubhouse, and maybe clear his head enough to eventually get back to hitting (or maybe even a season or two of AAA or MLB spot relief work?
I was watching the opening day game last week vs the Yankees on YES, and Michael Kay said that the Orioles tried to tweak Davis’s approach/swing last year, and that Davis was not open to it.
If that’s true, then who’s fault is it that he stinks? Coaches are there to help you fix your flaws and if you don’t listen, the flaws will persist.
I know he’s terrible and it’s not working, but I’ve always liked the way his swing looks
My new guilty pleasure, checking on Davis’s daily box to see how bad his game was today….
Similar situation as Jason Heyward with the Cubs. Such a drastic shift in the free agent market in just 3 years. Both players’ not anywhere near the value that their $150M+ contracts suggest.
If I was the Orioles, I’d approach Davis about an assignment in the minors to try and get back to basics and re-build confidence. Send him down to A+ ball and work him through the system for a couple of months.
There’s no reason for Davis’ unbelievable decline unless he needs LASIK or something like Wilson Ramos got a few years ago.
I was thinking Dan Uggla earlier. Difference is, Davis has seen the Ks spike, where as Uggla became almost a HR or nothing guy, his K rate didn’t really pick up as his ba went down.
No, not really sure what the deal with Davis is, other than to say it may be 15 or 20% each of a bunch of things that combine to leave him simply ineffective.
I have ADHD I’ve taken both, Vvyvanse makes me angry and anxiety ridden but focus is good tend to wander mentally still. Adderall gives me the focus of a Tibetan Monk with zero anxiety and I only get angry if I haven’t eaten or drank any water while under it’s spell.So if he is indeed taking Vvyvanse it maybe effectively ruining his career.
Only way I would sign someone like that long term, is if he guarantees me he will stay on whatever hes on
Us Baltimore fans only have ourselves to blame. We put the Yankees fans to shame with how much we pressure the team to spend at all times, no matter how stupid it is.
To be honest with you I can’t believe davis can still draw walks. He has to be the least feared guy in baseball to throw strikes to right now. I think the 4 walks is somewhat impressive given the rest of the profile.
He was even intentionally walked a few days ago lmao