INQUISITR.COM / Sports

New York Yankees Sign Ike Davis To Major League Contract

By Mark Suleymanov
Published on: 07:48 PST, Jun 12, 2016

After being released from his contract with the Texas Rangers earlier in the day, first baseman Ike Davis has agreed to a major league contract with the New York Yankees, according to MLB Network’s Jon Heyman. Davis will join the team “soon” as the Yankees have lost several first basemen to injury in recent weeks.

The Yankees were reportedly interested in signing Davis this offseason before the former first-round draft pick elected to sign with Texas.

Davis, 29, has spent all of 2016 with the Rangers’ Triple-A team, posting a rather disappointing 0.246/0.329/0.406 with four home runs and 25 runs batted in (RBIs). Last season with the Oakland Athletics, Davis continued a string of subpar seasons by hitting a meager 0.229/0.301/0.350 with three HR and 20 RBIs in 74 games. A torn labrum in Davis’ hip prematurely ended his 2015 campaign.

The Yankees have recently lost Mark Teixeira (knee), Dustin Ackley (shoulder), and Chris Parmelee (hamstring) to injury. Ackley is done for the year, Teixeira may need season-ending surgery, and Parmelee may miss a month. Greg Bird (shoulder) underwent surgery during Spring Training and will miss the entire season.

Rob Refsnyder is the Yankees’ current first baseman and backup catcher Austin Romine is also the backup first baseman. Despite having Nick Swisher stashed away at Triple-A, the Yankees are reluctant to call him up due to his overall poor hitting in the minors. Davis, who has massive platoon splits, will likely see most of his action against right-handed pitching.

As a pull hitter in the hitter-friendly Yankee Stadium, Davis’ home run stroke will play well.

Signing with the Yankees represents a return to New York for Davis. He spent the first four-and-a-half years of his career as the New York Mets’ primary first baseman. After a strong rookie campaign in 2010, batting 0.264/0.351/0.440 with 19 HR and 71 RBIs, Davis appeared to be the Mets’ first baseman of the future.

However, starting in 2011, injuries, sickness, and alleged off-the-field escapes plagued the rest of the Davis’ tenure with the Mets. A severe ankle injury ended Davis’ 2011 after just 36 games. But he still played well in limited action, finishing that year a 0.302/0.383/0.543 hitter with seven HR and 25 RBIs.

A severe ankle injury ended Davis’ 2011 after just 36 games. But he still played well in limited action, finishing that year a 0.302/0.383/0.543 hitter with seven HR and 25 RBIs. During Spring Training the next season, Davis was diagnosed with valley fever, something later discovered to have plagued him for years to come.

While 2012 was not great in terms of batting average for Davis (0.227/0.308/0.462), it proved to be his best power season as he swatted a career-high 32 HR and 90 RBIs in 156 games. However, those struggles to hit well consistently carried over in 2013 and prompted the Mets to demote Davis to Triple-A in June 2013.

After a solid stint in the minors, Davis returned and posted strong numbers the rest of the year, hitting 0.286 and getting on base at a 0.449 clip in the second half. He finished 2013 hitting 0.205/0.326/0.334 with nine HR and 33 RBIs. With a plethora of options at first base entering 2014 (Lucas Duda and Josh Satin), Davis’ playing time decreased.

In mid-April of 2014, the Mets traded Davis to the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for Zach Thornton and a player to be named later. Following the trade, Davis hit 0.235/0.343/0.378 with 10 HR and 46 RBIs as the Pirates’ first baseman through 131 games.

In the offseason, Davis was traded once again, this time to the Oakland Athletics in exchange for a bonus slot during the international free agent signing period. Despite his struggles in recent years, Davis still believes he can be a productive player as he told the New York Daily News in Spring Training.

“I do. You have to. I’m just saying, if you look at my numbers, it has just not been the same. But I’m still trying my ass off.”

[Featured Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]

Share this article: New York Yankees Sign Ike Davis To Major League Contract
mlb New York Mets New York Yankees
More from Inquisitr