A few thoughts on Davis and Yoon
By Roch Kubatko
Once word spread yesterday that the Braves signed first baseman Freddie Freeman to an eight-year extension worth $135 million, you probably wondered how much Chris Davis is worth to the Orioles.
Join the club.
Freeman is 24. Davis turns 28 next month, a late bloomer who didn't find a regular spot in a lineup until the 2012 season.
Freeman is a career .285/.358/.466 hitter in 471 games and 1,908 plate appearances, with 93 doubles, 68 home runs and 280 RBIs. Last season, he batted .319/.396/.501 with 27 doubles, 23 homers and 109 RBIs in 147 games, made the All-Star team in the National League and finished fifth in Most Valuable Player voting.
Davis is a career .266/.327/.512 hitter in 596 games and 2,317 plate appearances, with 121 doubles, 120 homers and 360 RBIs. Last season, he batted .286/.370/.634 with 42 doubles, 53 homers and 138 RBIs in 160 games, made the All-Star team in the American League, won a Silver Slugger Award and finished third in MVP voting.
Davis avoided arbitration last month by agreeing to a $10.35 million deal. He won't become a free agent until completing the 2015 season.
Executive vice president Dan Duquette confirmed at FanFest that he offered Davis a long-term extension, "but it hasn't really progressed." Davis indicated later in the day that he hadn't heard about such talks taking place over the winter.
One possibility is that agent Scott Boras didn't consider the offer worthy of a phone call to Davis. Many players instruct their reps to contact them only if negotiations heat up. They don't want play-by-play on preliminary discussions.
If Davis comes close to duplicating his 2013 season, Boras will view Freeman's salary as chump change.
Davis doesn't consider himself a finished product. He still sees room for improvement.
"I feel like you grow every year," he said at FanFest. "Obviously, 2012 was a huge year for me, getting the chance to play every day. And then last year, getting the chance to play in every game and be an everyday guy.
"There are little things here and there you want to improve on. Defensively, I didn't quite win a Gold Glove, which would have been awesome. Obviously, the strikeouts are going to be a big issue. I'm going to strike out, as a power hitter. Can I cut down on them? I would like to. But there are things here and there you'd like to do to tighten your game up every year. I'm just going to continue competing and try to get better."
Meanwhile, Korean right-hander Suk-min Yoon worked out for the Rangers and Cubs yesterday, according to reports, his session consisting again of 30 pitches. He's trying to show interested teams that he's healthy after a right shoulder injury forced him into the bullpen last year.
Yoon worked out for the Orioles last week in California.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, who covers the Rangers, tweeted that Yoon isn't close to signing and wants a multi-year deal, which contradicts reports that he was on the verge of making a decision.
Would the Orioles actually offer more than one year for Yoon, considering the issue with his shoulder and how they wasted $8.15 million over two years on Japanese left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada?
Hard to imagine.
Yoon is certainly worth a look, but it's funny how the Orioles' interest in him suddenly has overshadowed their pursuit of A.J. Burnett, a much more important pitching target.
Davis is a career .266/.327/.512 hitter in 596 games and 2,317 plate appearances, with 121 doubles, 120 homers and 360 RBIs. Last season, he batted .286/.370/.634 with 42 doubles, 53 homers and 138 RBIs in 160 games, made the All-Star team in the American League, won a Silver Slugger Award and finished third in MVP voting.
Davis avoided arbitration last month by agreeing to a $10.35 million deal. He won't become a free agent until completing the 2015 season.
Executive vice president Dan Duquette confirmed at FanFest that he offered Davis a long-term extension, "but it hasn't really progressed." Davis indicated later in the day that he hadn't heard about such talks taking place over the winter.
One possibility is that agent Scott Boras didn't consider the offer worthy of a phone call to Davis. Many players instruct their reps to contact them only if negotiations heat up. They don't want play-by-play on preliminary discussions.
If Davis comes close to duplicating his 2013 season, Boras will view Freeman's salary as chump change.
Davis doesn't consider himself a finished product. He still sees room for improvement.
"I feel like you grow every year," he said at FanFest. "Obviously, 2012 was a huge year for me, getting the chance to play every day. And then last year, getting the chance to play in every game and be an everyday guy.
"There are little things here and there you want to improve on. Defensively, I didn't quite win a Gold Glove, which would have been awesome. Obviously, the strikeouts are going to be a big issue. I'm going to strike out, as a power hitter. Can I cut down on them? I would like to. But there are things here and there you'd like to do to tighten your game up every year. I'm just going to continue competing and try to get better."
Meanwhile, Korean right-hander Suk-min Yoon worked out for the Rangers and Cubs yesterday, according to reports, his session consisting again of 30 pitches. He's trying to show interested teams that he's healthy after a right shoulder injury forced him into the bullpen last year.
Yoon worked out for the Orioles last week in California.
MLB.com's T.R. Sullivan, who covers the Rangers, tweeted that Yoon isn't close to signing and wants a multi-year deal, which contradicts reports that he was on the verge of making a decision.
Would the Orioles actually offer more than one year for Yoon, considering the issue with his shoulder and how they wasted $8.15 million over two years on Japanese left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada?
Hard to imagine.
Yoon is certainly worth a look, but it's funny how the Orioles' interest in him suddenly has overshadowed their pursuit of A.J. Burnett, a much more important pitching target.
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