Chris

Davis

Davis had one year and $23 million remaining on the seven-year, $161 million contract that he signed with the Orioles in January 2016, and he’ll still get all of that money in a restructured settlement with deferrals, per Jon Heyman of MLB Network. The 35-year-old needed hip surgery back in May and had not played in a game this season after also being limited to just 16 games (55 plate appearances) during the shortened 2020 campaign. Davis finishes with 1,160 career hits and 295 career home runs.

Davis landed on the 60-day injured list before the start of the regular season because of a lower back strain and can now be ruled out for the entirety of the 2021 campaign following this hip procedure. The 35-year-old first baseman is due a whopping $23 million salary from the Orioles in 2022. At least it’s the final year of that deal.

The 35-year-old first baseman was diagnosed with a lower back strain at the beginning of March and hasn’t progressed. At this point, it would be surprising to see him see meaningful playing time at all during the 2021 season. Davis is still owed $46 million over the next two seasons.

Hyde didn’t go into detail, but it says a lot that he was willing to concede this. Davis was diagnosed with a lower back strain at the start of March and probably isn’t going to be much of a factor on the field for the Orioles this season.

“In my experience that’s a very unpredictable thing in terms of timelines,” Elias told reporters via Zoom. It’s looking less and less likely that the soon-to-be 35-year-old will be ready for Opening Day.

Davis came down with what was described as a lower back strain a week ago and apparently hasn’t seen much in the way of improvement. There’s no timetable for his return, so opening the year on the injured list appears to be likely at this point.

Davis felt it on a swing on Sunday and will get some time to rest. The 34-year-old has endured a nightmare at the plate over the past few seasons, but he’s made some mechanical changes over the winter and the O’s appear committed to giving him some sort of role this year. His $23 million salary has a lot to do with that. And it’s not like the Orioles are legitimately trying to win this year, so there’s that too.

Davis declined to go into more specifics, but it sounds like it will be obvious when we see him hitting. The 34-year-old has been in a tailspin at the plate the last several years, but manager Brandon Hyde insisted Friday that Davis is “going to play quite a bit” this season. We’re skeptical, even though he’ll be getting paid $23 million in 2021.

Davis appeared in only 16 total games this past season for the Orioles due to lingering patellar tendinitis in his left knee and batted just .115/.164/.173 with zero home runs and one RBI when he wasn’t on the injured list. The veteran first baseman now has a brutal .550 OPS over his last 929 plate appearances dating back to the beginning of 2018, and yet he is still owed $46 million on a contract that runs through 2022.

The 34-year-old only played in 16 games for the O’s this season, slashing a cringe-inducing .115/.164/.173 with no homers, one RBI and a 17/3 K/BB ratio over 55 plate appearances. He has two years remaining on the seven-year, $161 million contract he signed with the Orioles prior to the 2016 season.