Chris Davis: 3 Best Fantasy Free Agent Locations

While the free agent pitching market has multiple ace level options heading into 2016, the hitter’s class is highlighted by the most prolific power hitter over the last four years: Chris Davis. Davis has launched 159 bombs since 2012 and he will enter into a market that will be chalked full of desperate teams looking for power.

Davis will surely be paid handsomely and he has the sheer power to hit 30+ homers anywhere he signs. He will surely be an early round pick in fantasy drafts, but where are some of the best possible locations for him to wind up in 2016?

Baltimore Orioles

Just as in the case of Zack Greinke, Davis’ best free agent location happens to be the very team he suited up for in 2015. The Orioles just whiffed on resigning Nelson Cruz and saw his 40+ bombs head out west, so letting Davis walk could be the last straw for O’s fans. While the O’s will be challenged by some teams with bigger budgets, do not be fooled by the assumption that they do not have the funds to make something happen.

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They have roughly only 42 million in guaranteed money tied up in 2016, so while they have multiple roster holes to fill there is certainly money there to be spent on resigning Davis. But like always it will come down to Peter Angelos actually coming off of that 200+ million in revenue last season and finally making something happen. Last season all Davis did at Camden Yards was post a, .285/29 HR/69 RBI/1.026 OPS line, it almost makes too much sense for them to resign him. Pay that man.

Houston Astros

Is there any other hitter in baseball that epitomizes the Astros hitting philosophy more than Davis? Imagining Davis in the middle of the Astros young and upcoming lineup is ridiculous and could be the very move that sets them over the top in 2016. Davis also happens to be a Texas native, so there is always something to be said about a guy going back home. As we all know with the Astros lineup and ballpark, Davis could challenge for top 10 fantasy status if he finds himself signing there.

Chris Carter and Jon Singelton do not seem to be the long term answers at first, so the Astros could pony up the money for a big name addition like Davis, and reward the fan base for supporting the team so much during their surprise 2015 run. Outside of Baltimore, this would be the prime fantasy spot for Davis to land.

St. Louis Cardinals

This is more of an outside of the box location, but one that could prove to be a valuable choice for Davis. From a success standpoint, the Cardinals are nearly unrivaled by their ability to be challenging for a World Series every season, so if winning is what Davis is looking for than the Cards are a clear choice. Matt Adams has not lived up to expectations even before his injury in 2015, so he could be expendable in the Cards search for some pitching depth.

They clearly have to resign Jason Heyward back as well, so even while they are not known for spending they could try and solidify their offensive firepower in just two signings. Now I know that Stephen Piscotty could handle first as well, but Heyward could very easily play center and Piscotty could shift to right field full time leaving them with a possible order of, Carpenter/Piscotty/Davis/Holldiay/Heyward/Peralta/Molina/Wong. That is a top to bottom solid lineup and would certainly infuse the lineup with some much needed thump. They also have Brandon Moss in the fold, but if they could bring Davis in Moss would either be cut for money reasons or become a solid hitter off the bench.

Wherever Davis winds up it will be interesting because it changes the whole landscape of a team’s offense. While these are three teams that would be good hypothetical landing spots in my opinion, I would not be surprised for a sleeper team to jump in and make a big play(I’m looking at you Seattle), so his market will be one of the more interesting ones to watch develop over the winter.

Next: TB/SEA Fantasy Trade Fallout

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