With a generally weak free agent class as far as power in concerned, one team owner is taking a personal interest in bringing back the top slugger in the American League, according to Buster Olney.
Orioles owner Peter Angelos personally involved in the team's effort to re-sign Chris Davis — which must happen for O's to have a chance.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) November 23, 2015
Davis lead the league in home runs with 47 and his 117 RBI were second in the AL behind only MVP Josh Donaldson. He’s set to break the bank this year as the premier slugger on the market. Normally, a player like this would immediately be able to limit his suitors to about six teams (Dodgers, Yankees, Red Sox, Cubs and a couple who come and go with big deals like the Mariners and Robinson Cano), the Orioles not being one of them.
Given their 2015 payroll of $112.7M and their current obligations of just $57.6M for 2016 (not including arbitration raises), a player who is managed by Scott Boras and could fetch more than $20M per season does not normally seem to fit into the budget. Considering that Davis accounted for almost 24% of the Orioles runs scored in 2015, however, their ownership is apparently ready to make an exception.
Just because they are willing, though, doesn’t mean it will be the smart thing to do. Players with old player skills can see their skills diminish quickly as they lose whatever athleticism they had and become simply a power bat with no defensive value. We have seen this recently with Miguel Cabrera and David Ortiz as they are still incredible hitters, but not worth the hefty contracts they have been handed. If the Orioles do fall into this trap, they could potentially saddle themselves with a Ryan Howard/Matt Kemp sized contract for a hitter who has only been slugging for four years now and batted .196/.300/.404 just a year ago. Of course, the fans want to keep him around and everyone loves home runs, but considering the fact that Davis will be 30 next year along with the amount of money he is set to bring in, there is a lot of risk involved in this situation.
Given that the Orioles do appear to be all in right now, however, there is very little risk to Davis as wherever he signs, he will surely get paid with one of the biggest contracts this off-season.
