Yet another impending free agent has signed a contract extension and taken himself off the market. Thursday afternoon the Oakland Athletics announced they have signed slugger Khris Davis to a two-year contract extension covering the 2020 and 2021 seasons. The two-year deal is worth $33.5 million, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle. The $16.75 million average annual value represents a slight raise from his $16.5 million salary this year.
"Oakland has been a special place for me since I arrived," Davis said in a statement. "I love playing here in front of our fans, and my teammates make this feel like a family. I never hid the fact that I wanted to stay in Oakland because that is how I feel and I'm glad that I can continue to call the city of Oakland my baseball home. This team has a bright future, and I'm thrilled to be a part of it."
Davis, 31, has emerged as one of the top home run hitters in baseball since joining the A's in a three-player trade with the Brewers in February 2016. He hit at least 42 home runs each season from 2016-18, including an MLB-leading 48 homers last year. Davis leads baseball with 10 homers in the early going this season as well.
Funnily enough, Davis has hit exactly .247 in each of the last four seasons, which is a neat statistical quirk. He owns a .260/.305/.662 batting line in the early going this year. Davis has been primarily a DH since the beginning of last season, which suits the roster and his game well given his shaky defense. There's nothing wrong with having a pricey and productive DH.
Here is the home run leaderboard since Davis joined Oakland in 2016. He leads the league by a significant margin:
- Khris Davis: 143
- Giancarlo Stanton: 124
- Nelson Cruz: 120
- Nolan Arenado: 119
- Edwin Encarnacion: 117
With Davis locked up, the Athletics figure to explore a long-term extension with third baseman Matt Chapman in the near future. He can not become a free agent until after the 2023 season, so it's not an urgent matter, but the sooner they lock him up, the bigger the discount. That's how these extensions usually work.
Davis is the ninth impending free agent to sign an extension since the calendar flipped to 2019. He joins a group that includes Arenado, Xander Bogaerts, Sonny Gray, Paul Goldschmidt, Aaron Hicks, Ryan Pressly, Chris Sale, and Justin Verlander. With free agency slowing down, players are jumping on guaranteed money through extensions.
