On Tuesday, MLB.com’s Richard Justice dubbed A’s slugger Khris Davis as “the most interesting player in MLB”. Now today, Davis and the Athletics agreed to a 2-year, $33.5 million deal to keep last year’s Home Run King in Oakland through 2021.
Davis is certainly one of the most interesting players in baseball, but more importantly, he’s one of the best hitters, too. After being dealt from Milwaukee to Oakland in February 2016, he’s contributed over 40 homers and 100 RBI in each of his three seasons with the A’s. Davis led the big leagues with 48 last year, to go along with 123 RBI and a .247 average; finishing the season with a .247 mark for the fourth straight campaign.
While the batting average isn’t one to be amazed at, “Khrush”, as fans have nicknamed him, has been one of baseball’s top power hitters over the last three years. He’s already hit 10 homers in the early part of this season, which leads the majors, and has hit more dingers than anyone else since the start of the 2016 season. His numbers have also progressed in each campaign, with last year’s being his best yet. In 151 games, Davis batted .247 with 48 HR, 123 RBI, .326 OBP, .549 SLG, .302 ISO, .365 wOBA and 135 wRC+. It was truly a remarkable season for Davis, who went on to receive the Edgar Martinez Outstanding Designated Hitter of the Year award.
He was Oakland’s biggest offensive contributor yet again, and led the club to its first postseason appearance since 2014. They came out on the losing end by a 7-2 score in their Wild Card game at Yankee Stadium, with both of their runs unsurprisingly coming on a two-run blast by Khris Davis.
This season is Davis’ final year of arbitration, as he and the Athletics agreed on a salary of $16.5 million this past offseason. That’s the most any A’s player has made in a single season, and he will now be making an average of $16.75 million in each of the next two years. While the A’s aren’t known to hand out extensions, this one doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Davis has expressed his happiness in Oakland on numerous occasions, and will now get to stick around for these next three seasons.
Now at the age of 31, Davis looks to keep producing for the Athletics as their designated hitter out of the cleanup spot. He hasn’t shown any signs of slowing down this year, leading the league with 10 home runs, as mentioned earlier, and collecting 20 RBI (2nd in A.L.). The A’s, who come off a magical 97-win season, now have some more clarity in their future by inking one of the most powerful hitters in baseball through 2021.
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