Scott Garceau: O's Davis Has Special Power
Pay the man! Yes, free agent Chris Davis will get paid handsomely when he hits the free agent market this off-season. If the Orioles don't pony up another team will. Deputy Davis was coming off a horrible year (.196 and Adderall suspension) and the early part of the 2015 was one big swing and a miss, but since the All-Star break Davis has been crushing it. Suddenly those calls to 105.7 The Fan went from "get rid of Davis" to "they better sign Davis."
The Orioles say they want to sign Davis but I'd pay more attention to their actions then their words. It probably wouldn't be good business to announce they're not signing their star-slugger in the midst of a pennant race. Davis has the leverage; he's an elite home run hitter at a time when power is hard to find.
Home runs have hit their lowest rate in more than two decades. Only 11 players reached the 30-homer mark last season, the fewest since 1992. The Davis resume shows more home runs than any player in baseball in the last 3 seasons (2013-'15). If you need the long ball, and who doesn't, Chris Davis is your guy. And the man is above average with a glove on his hand at first base and decent in the outfield.
Hanley Ramirez is a butcher in the outfield but it didn't stop the Red Sox from giving him $22-million a year for 4 years. That same Boston team gave Pablo Sandoval a 5 year/95 million dollar contract to be a run of the mill hitter this summer. Toronto gave free agent catcher Russell Martin 5 years for $82 million.
Davis set an Orioles record with 53 home runs in 2013 and he's one of only 3 Orioles to ever total over 100 homers in 3 consecutive seasons. Sweet swinging, finger-wagging Rafael Palmeiro is tops with 120 homers between 1996 and '98 (39, 38, 43). Jim Gentile was the first Oriole to top 100 with 103 from 1961-'63 (46. 33, 24).
Chris Davis is just 7 home runs away from Palmeiro's 3-year Orioles record. With over a month to play, Davis is at 113 and counting (53,26,34). The 100 number isn't easy to attain it signifies consistent power and good health over a 3-year period. Some great Orioles couldn't get there, how about this Boog Powell, Frank Robinson, Eddie Murray and Adam Jones all topped out with identical 94's as their best consecutive 3-year homer run.
If Hanley Ramirez is worth 22 million a year and Pablo Sandoval 19 mil a year I would think Chris Davis and agent might consider asking for 20 million a year. I'm thinking he could land a 4 to 5 year deal worth 85 to 105 million. While MLB power is going down, paying for it is going up. Who's in?
