Steve Davis: Orioles Dance With Chris Davis

The Orioles have taken the unusual stance of discussing their offer to Chris Davis publicly.

We don't normally see this, especially with Dan Duquette announcing their offer is off the table.  That could point to a number of things.  It could mean they're frustrated, that they made a sizable and fair offer to Davis and were led to believe it would be enough. When it wasn't, they made it known they did it and they're done.

It could be a negotiating ploy, going public and putting the pressure on his agent Scott Boras to come up with a better offer ASAP or risk not even getting what the Orioles are offering.  It could also send a message to other teams that the Orioles are serious players and if you're not in the ballpark of 7 years for $150 million, don't bother because that's what it will take.

Another strategy might be that by going public, they're making sure they are getting a message right to Chris Davis instead of counting on his agent to do it.  They might want Chris Davis to know we tried but we're not messing around anymore.  We're about to go use this money on someone else so if you really do want to come here, you better tell your agent to get a deal done.

Another byproduct of going public with your acknowledgement that you had a big deal on the table, even if it isn't anymore, is that your fans and players know you are serious about spending what it takes to field a playoff team.