Former Athletic Khris Davis intends on playing this season

Khris Davis is looking to play in the majors this year and currently trying to find a team to join, per Robert Murray of FanSided. Murray relays that Davis is drawing interest from multiple clubs.

Davis had a tremendous run with the Brewers and Athletics from 2013 to 2018. Over those six seasons, he hit 193 home runs and slashed .248/.320/.519. He had a wRC+ of 107 or higher in each of those six campaigns and was only below 122 in one of them.

Unfortunately, multiple injuries took a toll on him in 2019, causing his production to fall into a nosedive that he hasn’t been able to pull out of. Hip, oblique and hand injuries brought him down to a line of .220/.293/.387 that year. He put up similar numbers in 2020 and 2021, leading to a .216/.291/.376 line over the 2019-2021 stretch, a wRC+ of 80.

Davis wasn’t graded as a strong defender even in his prime, but he’s taken the field less and less over the years. After playing left field at least 90 times each year from 2013 to 2017, he’s only taken the field in 18 total contests since that time. Without being able to contribute on the defensive side of things, he really needs to be able to hit in order to be valuable.

It’s been a few years since Davis has been useful with the bat, but he’s only 34 years old. While a contending team is unlikely to take a chance on him, perhaps a rebuilding club could give him some time at the plate and see if he can rediscover his prior form. If he succeeds, he could then be sent to a contender at the trade deadline.

Speculatively speaking, perhaps Davis and the A’s could have mutual interest in a reunion. Although Oakland traded Davis to the Rangers as part of the Elvis Andrus trade prior to last season, they re-signed him in August after the Rangers released him, giving him 53 plate appearances down the stretch. The club has been trying out a lot of younger players this year, but has occasionally used their designated hitter slots for veterans like Jed Lowrie or Stephen Vogt. With Vogt now on the shelf due to a grade 2 MCL sprain, perhaps someone like Davis could make sense for an elder statesman role.