Infielder J.D. Davis has won his arbitration hearing against the Giants, per Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. He’ll make a salary of $6.9MM this year instead of the $6.5MM the club requested.
Davis, 31 in April, was acquired from the Mets in August of 2022. His first full season as a Giant went well, as he hit 18 home runs and reduced his strikeout rate to 27.8%, still above average but a drop relative to his own work in the previous two seasons. His .248/.325/.413 batting line translated to a wRC+ of 104, indicating he was 4% above league average.
On defense, the metrics were split, as Defensive Runs Saved gave him an atrocious grade of -11. His five Outs Above Average, on the other hand, were a career high. Baseball Reference, which uses DRS, calculated him as being worth 0.9 wins above replacement on the year. FanGraphs, which uses OAA, gave him 2.2 WAR.
Davis was a Super Two guy and therefore eligible for four arbitration passes. His first came prior to the 2021 season, when he and the Mets went to a hearing. The arbiters in that case sided with the club, giving Davis a salary of $2.1MM instead of the $2.475MM he was seeking. For 2022, he and the Mets avoided arbitration by agreeing to a modest bump to $2.76MM, with Davis only playing 73 games in 2021 due to a left hand injury. After getting traded to the Giants, he and that club avoided arbitration by agreeing to a $4.21MM salary for 2023.
Now just a year away from the open market, Davis projects to be the club’s everyday third baseman in 2024. However, the club has been connected in rumors to free agent Matt Chapman this winter. If they were to pull the trigger on such a deal, it would push Davis into a DH/bench role or perhaps onto the trade market.
The Giants didn’t exchange figures with any other players, so their arb class is now complete. Roster Resource puts their competitive balance tax number at $200MM as of today, $37MM short of the lowest tier of the tax.
400k to ruin a player team relationship.
yeah I mean honestly I don’t know why they went to arb with him unless they plan to move him
Really? That is a little ignorant. This is about the % difference gap that exists between avg team:player claims.
That is to say, he wasn’t lowballed. So why would the team acquiesce to overpaying him based on his request.
And this is his final year before FA, so awful JD Davisnis incentivized to have a great season so he can land a strong multi year contract and ruin another team’s defensive ability to avoid runs scored.
because if they plan on moving him the return is better on a lower priced contract, it literally adds value in the transaction
Agreed, kinda think they end up trading him though, but I also still see them signing Chapman
If Chapman is signed he’ll probably be traded quickly. If not he’ll probably go at the deadline if Casey is tearing up AAA.
The latter is my preference. I just hope he has a good start of the season to build back value. He’s a good player, but in his last year as a Giant regardless.
I definitely have reservations about chapman but there does need to be some offense added and you can kind of go a few routes – chapman + move davis to DH, trade for adames , move luciano to 3rd and davis to DH or sign a DH and keep uys where they are – the latter is probably why there are the talks with soler
Worst wait and see offseason ever.
Incredible how many unsigned top free agents left at this point. I know SFG is still in play by their current payroll and roster space. (Ray &Cobb to 60 day) Boras is killing me…
I think once spring training hits there are gonna be a ton of guys off the board – right now there are what 2 teams that don’t have a full 40 man – once guys come off the roster there is going to be space. Personally I don’t understand the rule that you have to keep injured guys on the 40 man all winter – it is pretty dumb
bag o ballz, I have to disagree about not being able to use the 60 day IL during the offseason. The purpose of it is to be able to replace an injured player for games. Since there are no games, being able to use the IL makes no sense. I think if it was allowed, teams might be tempted to abuse it as a way to load up their rosters, which might be an advantage for the wealthier teams.
The easy remedy is that you can only put players on that are committed to something like 30 or 60 days on opening day. There is no active roster so the abuse isn’t going to happen on the 26 man only the 40. I get that in the case if someone like ohtani that is a maybe maybe not you shouldn’t be able to put a guy on but guys that aren’t expected to be back till mid season and can be committed to a 30 or 60 day at the start of the season shouldn’t be forced to take space on the roster.
The 40-man protects players from the Rule 5 draft. Putting guys on the 60 day IL would allow teams to protect additional players from the Rule 5. I suppose it could allowed after the draft, but it still seems like bigger budget teams, that could afford to stock up on marginal players, would do so.
Yawwwwn. Ya’ll still going back and forth about the 60 day iL? Get. A. Life.
It is the difference between having the roster space to add additional players or not
I mean I still don’t see it as egregious abuse, it isn’t like teams are going to just protect a ton more players ahead of the draft but it would open more spots for guys to sign which would only benefit players and have the effect of moving the off-season along
How much after taxes and agent fees?
Thanks for the link – interesting! Makes much more sense to me now why the teams would fight for the lower salary amounts.
Great video on the process, but the last line sums it up nicely. It’s just a way for the owners to collectively keep wages down. A classic.
“400k to ruin a player team relationship.” Lmao these are grown men doing business. You’re perspective is soft and shows you’ve never done any major business deals in your life. This doesn’t “ruin” their relationship. Its just business.
Hope he thinks the 400k was worth it when they trade him away any day now. Looking forward to the Chapman announcement and/or Casey Schmitt playing every day.
If he gets traded his $400k win turn into more money literally anywhere he plays. SF has the worse tax hit of any MLB team
wtf are you talking about with the tax hit? the giants still have over 30mm before they hit the tax and haven’t offended in like 4 years
Him personally. Players get taxed in what city they play in. If gets traded to say Seattle he goes from 100ish games of 13% state tax plus SF city tax to 100ish games of 0% state tax.
Maybe he’s talking about state income taxes etc.?
mistborn, Well yeah, players gets taxed in the city they play in. But they also get taxed in every city they play in. A Giants’ player is only taxed in SF for 81 games. He’ll also be taxed for every game he plays in Cincy, Atlanta, Houston, etc. A Seattle player gets taxed for 3 games played in NY against the Yankees, the 3 games in Boston against the Red Sox, etc. No player will ever be off the hook completely for tax no matter what team they play for.
Still 100 game swing from cali to Seattle or any of those teams. The comment was in response to a guy saying was the $400k worth it. Probably worth $450k if he goes somewhere with 0% state tax
But It’s not a 100 game swing. At best it’s an 81 game swing.
Except the giants play the dodgers, Padres, angels, and A’s who are all in California. Those games add up
You’re talking city taxes and he’s talking state taxes.
They’re all in the same state genius, I literally said that. Congrats in failing reading comprehension
Great genius. The jock tax is done by each city and not the state. Income tax for the state is for the complete contract amount for the whole season. Congrats on not knowing what you are talking about.
JohnCena’sJorts, The M’s also play games against those teams, though admittedly less. But play more games in NY and Boston, than The Giants do. It’s close to a wash.
Mets6986??, Quoting the post I was responding to:
“If gets traded to say Seattle he goes from 100ish games of 13% state tax plus SF city tax…”
Mets6986??, Wrong. The Jock Tax, is a special income tax imposed by cities and states against visiting athletes when they earn money in that jurisdiction. This special income tax is currently enforced in every US state except five: Florida, Nevada, Texas, Washington, and Tennessee.
And it doesn’t take away from the state income tax from which the player plays and resides. It’s a separate tax. I was responding to Johncenna who stated their would be no jock tax because they were in the same state.
it looks like all in SF/CAisn’t the highest taxed state for atheletes because of the jock tax and additional high income earner taxes – it is boston and NY
A stunning misrepresentation of the local tax structure.
dick move, I wouldn’t expect anything less from the gnats.
I wouldn’t expect a fan who uses gnats (or doyers for that matter) to understand how arbitration works.
Good for JD.
Trade him !
Good for Davis. Zaidi being a cheapskate. Stick it to Zaidi
Tell me you don’t understand the arbitration process without telling me you don’t understand the arbitration process.
Trade zaidi, he’s the real problem with giants ! He won’t put good product on field (just upper management gets big money) We need better pitching & more Power….. Look at Dodgers, they win NL West every year!
@pitchers
What would another GM/PBO have realistically done that would make the Giants as good as the Dodgers (whom you referenced in your post)?
Keep in mind (1) that magic GM/PBO you dream of would have the same constraints by ownership Zaidi has, and (2) the Dodgers are years ahead in their development since their last semi-rebuild, so they’d have to be REALLY good.
I don’t really care for Zaidi one way or another, but I am also not convinced the team would be in any better shape without him, and it could certainly be worse.
We Need Pitchers!, How can you conclude that Zaidi “…won’t put (a) good product on (the) field…”? You cite the Dodgers, but Zaidi went after the same top FA players that the Dodgers did. In fact, his offers were identical to the Dodgers’ offers. They chose to play in LA. No GM/PBO in the history of the game has ever been able to force a player to sign when he wants to play elsewhere. And they never will.
I like JD. Bummer that it was over 400k. If the signs pointing to Chapman go through and they flip Davis, I hope he lands somewhere he gets to be a regular.
As it stands now, the Giants roster is no better (potentially worse) than it was last year. The transition from 10, 12 and 14 to what it is now is tough to see being a life long Giants fan.
Everything seems to point to them going all in on 25 for me. They went after big fish and lost.
Now it’s time to see what the kids can do while still competing. Ray will be hopefully be fully healthy next year, we’ll know what Harrison/Luciano is, and the Jordan hicks experiment will either succeed and be a steal, or he’ll make the bullpen super deep
Lot of crazy comments here.
JD Davis isn’t that good folks. I am not sure he’s worth what he’s making in arbitration. If the Giants sign Chapman it doesn’t mean he’s instantly going to be traded. He can play other positions or DH. He’s just not that good.
Ok Joel.
If Chapman is signed, why not move Davis to 1st for a L/R platoon?
Because of Wade & Flores.
JD was talked about as an all star before he got hurt. He is that good. You should maybe check the team before you talk. They’ve got plenty of 1b/dh/cof type. Flores and conforto need dh ab’s. Davis is gone if Chapman is signed
Murphy is a new factor in the RH DH slot as well. They will need to get him at bats if his power plays as it has previously.
This guy sucks. Swings at the first pitch every single time.
Great strategy in many cases.
oldgfan, I disagree. Some guys can make it work, but many can’t. Moises Alou was great at it, but he had much better pitch recognition than most players. Davis has these numbers over his career:
Swinging at the first pitch – 251/.295/.407, OPS of .702
Taking the first pitch – .268/.378/.451, OPS of.829
The trouble with swinging at the first pitch is, if a guy doesn’t get a hit, it makes for an easy inning for the pitcher. Pitchers love one-pitch outs. It drives me crazy to see the Giants let a pitcher get away with a 5 or 6 pitch inning. It’s so much better to make an out on a full count than on one pitch. I’d even rather see a base-on-balls than a single on the first pitch, since it makes the pitcher work.
Ok not his case then.
Davis isn’t quite a full-time player. He needs to be paced, otherwise he always weakens. At 6′-3″, 220 lbs he looks like a guy who should be able to play 150 games or play a month straight, but since he reached his late 20s he’s shown he can’t do it without paying a serious price in performance.
The Giants fail to recognize this at their peril.
The numbers don’t back that up. Over his career his best months by OPS are, in this order, Mar/Apr, Sept/Oct, and July. His worst months, also in order, are May, June, and Aug.
His career OPS for the season halves are .777 first, and .776 second. He did cool off last season after he injured his ankle, but his best months were Mar/Apr, and Sept/Oct.
A little surprised Davis won the arb case after a 0.9 bWAR season. But it’s not like the Giants are on the hook for a lot more money, anyway. At this point I have to wonder if he has much trade value. The Giants will probably try to move him, especially if they sign Chapman.
This has been an absolutely crazy year for arbitration, players hardly ever win and they have won every single case so far! Something is up… I wonder if it’s the same judge for every case.
Jazz Chisholm did not win his case. On his 26th birthday, no less.
I don’t think any player has lost this year.
And that’s rare right? I seem to remember teams winning more often than not. Or maybe they are just changing how it’s reported, i do remember players being reported as “losing” because they didn’t get what they asked for but did receive more than what was offered. Not sure if that has been the case at all this season
I think a few have lost in succession until the last two days or so.
My Giants stay losing. Chalk another one up for the field. Luciano is gonna move to 3B anyway I guess but this is just lame.
The Giants can’t even beat their own players these days unfortunately.
Praying that the young arms, Luciano and Matos pan out. Honestly I think it’s better odds than we all think but still pretty slim. Bailey and Harrison may be huge for us though!
Good for him!
I’m trying to be interested but JD Davis is…just a guy. Like every player on the roster except Logan Webb, the closer, and the catcher when he’s catching (not hitting). How is it that Bobby Evans basically got fired for having a bad farm system and signing dumb free agent contracts and here we have under Farhan a bad farm system and dumb (Conforto, Stripling, Manaea, DeSclafani, Haniger, LaStella) free agent contracts? I mean you’d think the Giants would accidentally numb into a good hitter in their farm system right?
KiKiCuyler, If you can’t see the difference between the Evans run Giants, and the Zaidi run Giants, I feel bad for you. It also calls into question your credibility. When Evans was let go, the Giants had the 18th rated farm system, and the team was 50 games below .500 in his last two seasons.
Since Zaidi took over, the Giants are 38 games over ,500. Granted that 107 win 2021 team is a big reason for that. But subtract that season and in the other 4 they’re still only 14 under .500. Much better than Evans.
Every FA is a gamble, but while Evan’s was committing to 5 year deals, Zaidi has been signing guys to only 2 and 3 year deals allowing the team to be more flexible. The roster was bloated under Evans with little financial room under the tax threshold. That has greatly improved under Zaidi.
The farm system is improved under Zaidi. It’s too soon to grade his drafting and development. It was only this past season that his first picks were promoted. But, I’d say that Bailey and Harrison alone are more promising than any of Evans’ picks.
Congratulations JD. Nice W.
Not sure why there has to be the perception of angst. The player wants what he wants, the team needs to play hardball now and then so they don’t give a “we are easy” impression to agents. Adults should be able to understand that and deal with the winning or losing in the system. It’s decided. Forget it. Move on exactly as you were doing prior.
JD is a place holder unitl C.Schmidt is ready. I don’t see a big upgrade in signing Chapman to the type of contract he wants. His hitting nosedived after April and his defense is slowly declining. The Giants should not be blocking Luciano or C.Schmidt. Sign B.Snell and Soler and make a trade to upgrade the lineup. They have a cadre of young starters and guys like Bart, Meckler they could dangle. I would go after Arazorena. Tampa needs young contralable starters.
mikenedy, You are much more optimistic about Schmitt than I am. I was not at all encouraged by Schmitt’s rookie year. I can see Luciano and Matos developing into productive players, but Schmitt needs to change his whole approach.
I mentioned Luciano and Matos specifically because they both seem to have taken seriously the directive not to chase. Clearly that’s being taught in the system. So why did Schmitt chase so much? I know one AB isn’t at all illuminating, but I remember an AB with the Giants behind but rallying with men on. Schmitt came up with less than 2 outs. All he needed to do was put the ball in play. He chased badly and struck out without a single pitch being thrown in the strike zone.
I think he’s too aggressive. He loads up his swing with that closed stance to maximize his power, but his bat to ball skills, and pitch recognition have been poor. That’s a bad combination. Though I do love the arm and glove.
I’m not saying I want Chapman, I don’t unless they can get him for 3 years, which I doubt they can. But I’d like to see the Giants look for future other options for 3B, unless Schmitt can make changes.
Casey has the same problems Matt Williams did in his first 2 years. Could not lay off / recognize the breaking stuff. His defense, like Casey’s, led to some patience in his offensive development. With Matt now on the coaching staff I feel SFG will recognize the similarities and fix Casey’s issues. Let Chapman go, and keep Casey in AAA to get consistent at bats. Hopefully Davis has a good walk year and Casey progresses in time for a trade at the deadline.
I know that Matt Williams had some of the same issues, but so have a lot of guys that didn’t have a successful career like Williams did. I share your hope that Williams can fix him. But my point, which I think you agree with, is that Schmitt needs to change his game at the plate. He can’t continue with the same approach if he’s going to be even league average.
Totally needs to change his approach.
What I do see is decent power and plus defense. I think he just needs time to develop and a little help.
I really hope he does. I’m not writing him off yet. It’s way too soon. But I have more optimism for Luciano and Matos
Why would Zaidi sign Chapman if they already have a third basemen who is equal to Chapman? Davis will be the third basemen this season. Giants are not going to add a big name player. Thats obvious.