It’s a deal that should have been done weeks if not months ago. But in the end the result is the same–slugger Chris Davis is re-signing with the Baltimore Orioles. The 29-year-old first baseman reportedly is returning to Camden Yards with a seven-year, $161 million deal that includes a full no-trade clause but no opt-out.
It has appeared for pretty much the entire off-season that the Orioles were the only team really interested in signing Davis. Early on, they reportedly offered him a seven-year, $150 million contract that he and his agent Scott Boras left on the table. The Orioles likely lit a fire under Boras earlier this week when they offered free agent outfielder Yoenis Cespedes a five-year, $90 million deal, showing that they were willing to move on from Davis. What’s surprising is that despite that, Boras managed to get another $11 million out of the Orioles anyway. By the way, ESPN is reporting that the Orioles are no longer pursuing Cespedes.
The Orioles certainly know what they’re getting. Davis has been at the heart of the Baltimore lineup for the past four seasons, hitting 159 homers. After a miserable 2014 that was derailed by a performance-enhancing drug suspension and injury, Davis rebounded admirably in his walk year. He slashed .262/.361/.562 while leading the majors with 47 home runs. He also had 117 runs batted in. His strikeout total of 208 was a career-high but so was his total of 84 walks.
Davis will be 36 when the contract expires and it stands to reason that his production will start to decline in the back half of the seven-year deal. But the Orioles should expect him to continue to put up big numbers for the next three or four seasons. Will that be enough to get Baltimore back into the post-season? That remains to be seen.
Gerard Farek is a senior writer at Outside Pitch MLB. Chat and/or follow him on Twitter here.
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