The Yankees announced this afternoon that they have acquired a player J.D. Davis and monetary considerations of the exchange player Jordan Groshans. Davis was designated for assignment by the A’s earlier this week. The Yankees moved the right-hander Nick Purdy He was placed on the 60-day injured list to make room for Davis on the 40-man roster.
Davis, 31, signed with the A’s in late spring after the Giants released Davis during spring training in order to get out of less than most of the $6.9 million salary he received in arbitration over the winter. He only managed to get a $2.5 million guarantee from Oakland, a far cry from his previously earned arbitration salary even after factoring in the roughly $1.1 million in severance pay he received from San Francisco. After the late spring controversy, Davis went on to appear in 39 games with the A’s where he slashed a roughly .236/.304/.366 league average in 135 trips to the plate while splitting time between first base, third base and DH.
While his offensive numbers this year leave something to be desired, Davis’ positional versatility and record as an above-average hitter make him a perfect fit for the Yankees’ current needs. The club lost its starting DH Giancarlo Stanton To the injured list earlier today, the first baseman Anthony Rizzo He was also shelved not long ago due to a broken forearm. Inexperienced Ben Rice He scuffled a bit in his first few games to replace Rizzo at first base, while the club doesn’t have a clear replacement for Stanton as the everyday DH in the home stretch. Even at third base, where the club currently relies on a combination of Oswaldo Cabrera And DJ LeMahieuthe club has a wRC+ of just 78 which ranks second in the AL behind only the White Sox.
Enter Davis, who entered the 2024 season with five straight seasons as an above-average hitter under his belt split between the Mets and Giants. Since the start of the 2019 season, Davis has hit a solid .265/.349/.438 with a wRC+ of 118. While he has hit at a 27.1% clip during that span, he has walked at a healthy 10% rate while flashing a 20-homer power play. That kind of production would be a huge upgrade for a Yankees club that has generally struggled to produce outfield offense this year even before losing Stanton, at least in the short term. It seems likely that Davis will slide into the Yankees’ everyday DH role while Stanton is unavailable, but he could also spell Rice at first base against left-handed pitching and even contribute at third alongside LeMahieu and Cabrera.
On days when Davis is in the outfield, he can pitch for the Yankees Aaron the judge or Juan Soto Opportunity to get a half day of rest as a DH and improve the club’s outfield defense by inserting a glove-first center fielder Trent Gresham In the mix. When Stanton eventually returns to regain regular at-bats at DH, the Yankees will likely determine how to move forward from there based on how Davis, Rice, Cabrera and LeMahieu have performed in those current roles up to that point. However, if Davis can maintain his production as an athlete in the Bronx, he should be a starter for at least semi-regular playing time around Yankees Stadium even after Stanton eventually returns.
More is coming…