Khris Davis wants to sign extension with A’s
Khris Davis has been a productive player for the Oakland A’s over the last three seasons, and he’s hoping to be staying around for a while longer.
As if by clockwork, Khris Davis has hit precisely .247 while topping 40 home runs in each of his three seasons with the Oakland A’s. He had his best year yet in 2018, with a major-league high 48 home runs along with career-highs in RBI (123), runs scored (98) and OPS (.874) on his way to a top-10 finish in AL MVP voting.
Davis was arbitration-eligible for the third and final time this offseason, securing a one-year, 16.5 million deal in January from the A’s to avoid a hearing. But that also means he’s slated to hit free agency next winter, and there have been multiple reports regarding contract extension talks to keep Davis in Oakland.
While also citing Oakland’s budget-conscious roster management style, which brings short-term contracts and consistent turnover, Davis made it clear he wants to be a part of the future beyond the coming season.
Khris Davis is hoping something can get done for him to stay in Oakland past this season soon. Said current state of free agency is a bit worrying. “I’d like to stay for at least three more years, but that’s a long time for the Oakland A’s.”
— Martín Gallegos (@MartinJGallegos) February 17, 2019
Khris Davis reiterates his desire to stay in Oakland, says he felt better when Bob Melvin said nice things about him in the team meeting. “I don’t think I’ll get traded if we’re doing good, so I hope we’re doing good,” Davis says.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) February 17, 2019
Davis also says he would not want to be a free agent right now. “I’m already 31,” he says. “I don’t know if I’m too old.” Says he’d like to be in Oakland at least three more years, which is in line with what I reported in December.
— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) February 17, 2019
After primarily playing left field in 2016 and ’17, Davis mostly served as the A’s DH last year (11 games in left field). That may diminish his big picture value to other teams, and limit any market for his services to American League teams if he were to hit free agency, but Davis’ value (at least 2.5 WAR in three straight seasons, via Baseball Reference) is driven by his offense anyway.
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Back-to-back slow offseasons surely has players reconsidering the appeal of hitting the open market as teams try to do more calculated business in free agency. More contract extension offers to keep current players in the fold seem likely to be put out there based on the latter idea, and Davis seems ready to take a long look at a multi-year offer that will hopefully come from the brass in Oakland.