Chris Davis and the Padres Update

One of the biggest free agent power hitters is the Orioles Chris Davis. Many Padres fans have expressed their own interest in acquiring the hard hitting slugger to supplant Yonder Alonso at first base. Is this even a remote possibility?

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The free agent system is often a bit of a domino effect, with certain players setting the bar for the payment to follow. On Saturday JA Happ signed which might help teams figure out where Ian Kennedy stands for example. Yet with Chris Davis, his numbers alone are somewhat of an enigma and with Scott Boras as his agent, it makes that number even harder to pin down.

Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun notes that Orioles owner Peter Angelos is looking to get involved personally in the negotiations to re-sign Davis. The Orioles let Nelson Cruz leave to free agency last year in Seattle, and he did nothing to make that gamble look good at all from an Orioles fan. To let their biggest slugger leave for a second year in a row would surely not be a good move for the fan base. Is it the right move though?

Davis, aside from a very good 2013, is a boom or bust hitter. He will likely command a $20M a year deal and is said to be looking for a 5 year deal at that. While Matt Kemp is apparently on the trading block for the Padres, assuming he is not traded signing Davis would have the Padres committed a large deal of long-term money into two players over 30 years old. Not to mention the fact that Yonder Alonso may not ever be a power hitter when it comes to home runs – but he does get on base, provides good defense at first base, and is left-handed which comes in handy with a right-handed heavy lineup. Of course Davis would be a good left-handed complement to Kemp.

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Schmuck notes that Boras is likely to drive Davis’ value up to a level higher than it ever should be – but teams like the Padres who are starved for power might be the teams that ante up to do it. I think it would be a mistake and would haunt the Padres the entire time he was on the contract. Look no further than the Carlos Quentin gamble. This team needs to get younger with power coming from within, and focus on grooming more players like the Travis Jankowskis who provide speed and a different element.

We know someone who sign Davis to a $100M+ contract this off-season. I just hope it’s not the San Diego Padres.

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