Orioles Rescind Mega Offer To Chris Davis
The Major League Baseball Winter Meetings have concluded with the Baltimore Orioles withdrawing their contract offer to free agent Chris Davis, according to ESPN. It was reported on Wednesday that the Orioles had presented Davis and his representatives with a seven-year, $150 million deal to keep the slugger in Baltimore, but it appears talks have stalled at least for now.
Orioles didn't increase 7-year offer to Davis. Source: "Not one nickel." Offer off table, although O's would pick up thread of past talks.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) December 10, 2015
A potential deal between the Orioles and Chris Davis does not appear 100 percent dead, but as general manager Dan Duquette departs Nashville (the site of MLB’s Winter Meetings), the club may be forced to move in other directions depending on Davis’ decision. Last week, the team traded for Mark Trumbo, as detailed by MLB.com. In exchange, the Orioles sent catcher Steve Clevenger to Seattle, who also included lefty reliever C.J. Riefenhauser in the trade. During his media availability this week at the Winter Meetings, Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter said that in addition to the veteran Trumbo, the Orioles have two prospects in Christian Walker and Trey Mancini that they like and who could compete with Trumbo for the first base job if Davis were to go elsewhere.
Duquette made it clear that he prefers to solidify the core of each year’s team by Christmas, so not reaching an agreement with Chris Davis throws a wrench into those plans. But the O’s GM spoke mostly in generalities when pressed on the lefty power-hitter.
“There’s a lot of rumors out there, lot of interest, but now’s the time of the year to buckle down and for people to make choices, what they’re going to do with their teams and for players to choose what teams they’re going to play for.”
Davis is clearly a coveted free agent. He led the league in home runs last year with 47 and was second in the American League with 117 RBI, behind only the A.L. MVP Josh Donaldson. He led the majors in both categories in 2013, belting a career-high 53 HR and driving in 138 runs. The 29-year-old will likely get the type of money the Orioles reportedly offered, but it remains to be seen from which team he cashes the checks.
It is entirely possible that Chris Davis’ camp (led by agent Scott Boras) is waiting for the market to be set, rather than establish it themselves or look for a much bigger offer. Davis joins Jason Heyward, Yoenis Cespedes, and Justin Upton as the top-tier power-hitting free agents. Ben Zobrist remains the only big-name position player to sign a contract, agreeing to a four-year, $56 million deal with the Cubs. The pitching market was established first with David Price and Zach Greinke agreeing to monster deals with the Red Sox and Diamondbacks, respectively.
Aside from Trumbo, the Orioles have been active in re-signing their own players. Catcher Matt Wieters accepted the team’s qualifying offer, which will pay him $15.8 million for one year. The Baltimore Sun reported that the O’s had also agreed to a four-year deal with reliever Darren O’Day, pending a physical.
Since joining the Orioles in 2011 via a trade with the Texas Rangers, Chris Davis has hit 161 home runs and driven in 425 runs. The 159 homers over the last four years are the most of any player on the free agent market. His monster season in 2013 earned him a third-place finish on the American League MVP ballot, behind only Miguel Cabrera of the Tigers and Mike Trout of the Angels. Davis currently sits in 16th in the A.L. on the active career home run leaderboard, but the players above him on the list are older.
[Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images]
