Boras on his "concern" over Davis' lack of production

SAN DIEGO - The annual Scott Boras media scrum at the Winter Meetings was held earlier than usual this week, with the super-agent making himself available at noon today to provide updates on clients Gerrit Cole and Anthony Rendon.

He stood in front of a backdrop bearing his agency's logo. A nice touch in 2019.

Boras fielded a question pertaining to Orioles first baseman Chris Davis about 30 minutes into the session, as he's done in the past. His response today was similar to the one he offered last year in Las Vegas.

Is Boras concerned about Davis' steep decline in production since the Orioles handed out a seven-year, $161 million contract that's the largest in franchise history?

"I'm always concerned when a player's not performing to the level of his ability," Boras responded.

"I've already had talks with the organization and levels of my staff have had talks with the organization. We've been in communication with C.D. Always trying to garner an approach and an improvement of his performance."

Boras revealed at last year's meetings that he sat down with executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias in Las Vegas to discuss ways to snap Davis out of his batting funk. He used the term "advancing this and getting Chris' abilities on the field" while describing the reasoning behind the suite visit at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino.

"We've had many players who have got great histories, and physically you know they're well," Boras said. "We know he can do it, He's done it many years, many times, and obviously we're making great efforts and strides to get him back to being normal."

It didn't work, of course.

Davis snapped his historic skid of 62 consecutive plate appearances without a hit on April 13 in Boston with a two-run single off Rick Porcello. He had gone hitless in 54 consecutive at-bats dating to Sept. 14, 2018.

Davis slashed .179/.276/.326 in 105 games, hitting 12 home runs and striking out 139 times in 352 plate appearances. He saw a major decrease in playing time and manager Brandon Hyde slid him near the bottom of the order.

Elias has stated that Davis will be in Sarasota, Fla., for spring training, giving no indication that the club has reached the point of releasing him. Davis has three years and more than $90 million left on his contract, including deferred money.

Meanwhile, the Orioles remain in the market for a veteran middle infielder and MLB.com's Mark Feinsand included the Orioles among at least four teams with interest in José Peraza.

The Reds non-tendered Peraza, 25, after he batted .239/.285/.346 in 141 games. He's a career .273/.312/.374 hitter in parts of five major league seasons, the first with the Dodgers. He's also been included in a pair of three-team trades, which might be approaching a record.

Peraza made $2.775 million this year and MLBTradeRumors.com projected him to earn $3.6 million in 2020. He's played shortstop, second base, left field and center field in the majors, and also pitched twice in relief this season, logging 1 1/3 scoreless innings with one hit allowed.

The versatility and team control make him an appealing possibility for the Orioles. The salary will need to come down.

The Orioles aren't narrowing their pitching search to candidates for the rotation. They're also checking on relievers, according to a source, and are trying to negotiate minor league deals.