The St. Louis Cardinals’ previously reported interest in free-agent slugger Chris Davis isn’t as serious as it seems, according to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com.
A person with knowledge of #STLCards agenda says reported interest in Chris Davis is overblown. Not John Mozeliak’s top priority.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) December 1, 2015
The Cardinals could obviously change direction with this later in the offseason; but after this report, it seems like the Baltimore Orioles, San Francisco Giants, and the Boston Red Sox are the teams linked to the top first baseman on the free-agent market so far. Other speculative fits could be with the Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, or San Diego Padres. The Houston Astros were a team that many thought would become Davis’ new home, but they are reportedly not likely to be in on the slugger. Still a team to keep an eye on, however.
Davis, 29, slashed .262/.361/.562 with 147 wRC+, 47 homers, and 117 RBIs in 670 plate appearances in 2015. According to Crasnick, Davis’ agent Scott Boras is selling his client to clubs as not only a first baseman and corner outfielder, but the top free agent of the 2015-16 class.
“‘Chris Davis grades out as the top free agent because he’s the top outfielder, the top first baseman and the top DH,’ Boras said. ‘He’s all of those. He’s three in one.'”
At first base, Davis has -3 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) and a +0.2 Ultimate Zone Rating (UZR) over 5,360 innings in his career. For his career in left field (86 innings), he has -1 DRS and a +2.0 UZR. In right field, (483 1/3 innings), he has -3 DRS and a +1.7 UZR. He’s not a great defender, but he’s serviceable.
The left-handed power hitter and Boras look to cash in this offseason. MLBTradeRumors.com projects Davis to sign a six-year, $144 million contract.
Statistics courtesy of www.fangraphs.com.
Signing David Price likely puts Boston out of the Chris Davis sweepstakes. They just have too much payroll now to afford him.