Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis situation not surprising?

Baltimore Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter isn’t surprised Chris Davis is still out there.

Baltimore Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter isn’t overly surprised that the Chris Davis sweepstakes have gone on as long as they have. Let me back up a moment; I’d hardly call it a sweepstakes, as so far as we know only one team has been involved to this point. The Orioles made a seven-year, $154 million dollar offer back in November/December, and that was turned down by Davis and Scott Boras.

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However in speaking to reporters yesterday from Orioles’ minicamp at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Showalter expressed the fact that he wasn’t surprised that this has gone on as long as it has. And I’ll be honest; I am surprised about it. Maybe I should rephrase that in the sense that I’m surprised it’s gone as it actually has. While the longevity itself is somewhat surprising to me, the real shock is the perceived lack of interest.

I would have thought that plenty of other teams, many of whom were presumably going to be the usual suspects, would have been popping on making an offer on Davis. Keep in mind that this is not only the defending home run king from last year, but that he led the majors in home runs two out of the last three years. Not only that, but Davis is a great team guy and would undoubtedly be an asset in any clubhouse of which he’s a part.

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Yes, Davis comes with a couple of drawbacks – it’s tough for him to hit-for-average, and he’s strikeout prone. However as I’ve said from the beginning, you’ll accept that from a guy that’s capable of putting up 40+ home runs per year. The other thing that might potentially work against Davis is the fact that he’s currently 29 years old. Boras wants an eight-year deal, which puts him at 37 when it’s over. The last couple of years of that contract might look a bit sketchy from any team’s perspective.

Mind you, the O’s offered him seven years. So while that’s only one off of what Boras and Davis want, it’s not as if they’re only willing to put up for four or five seasons. Ten years ago I’m not sure this franchise would have gone to those lengths. As you might remember, first base was a revolving door and effectively a platooned position with several different guys basically until Davis showed up.