Oakland Athletics: Khris Davis’ Future In Oakland
By Joey Lopez
Khris Davis has provided the A’s with plenty of power over the last two years, but does his bat have a future in Oakland?
The Oakland Athletics have relied upon the home run this season as their primary mode of attack. Led by Khris Davis (39), Ryon Healy (25), Matt Joyce (24) and Matt Olson (23), the A’s have been in love with hitting home runs.
Fueled by an injection of youth, the A’s have enjoyed their most productive month of the season in September. Bob Melvin‘s group has a four-game winning streak entering play on Friday. Overall, the A’s will enter Friday with 69 wins on the year with a chance of hitting 70 or more wins for the first time since 2014.
Since hitting 70 or more wins would signal to the front office that their youth movement is showing signs of progress, the A’s may be eager to get even younger next year. While Davis has provided the A’s with plenty of power and exciting walk-offs, his time may be nearing an end with Oakland.
KRUSHED IN THE OFFSEASON?
The A’s will face an interesting offseason this winter. Not only do the A’s face a tough question regarding Jed Lowrie‘s option for 2018, but they could face some uncertainty with Davis’s future with the club.
Oakland Athletics
As a result of the team’s young list of talent, prospects like Franklin Barreto could be utilized in various roles. As Joe Stiglitch of CSNBayArea.com points out, Barreto could find playing time in the outfield in the near future.
Billy Beane may have the opportunity, thanks to an increase in depth, to shop Khris Davis this winter. With Beane focusing on acquiring younger talent, dangling Davis during the winter months could represent a golden opportunity for Beane and the A’s to acquire a few prospects.
The A’s are not in a position where they absolutely need to deal Davis, but it could be an idea worth exploring. It may be interesting to see what competing clubs would be willing to part with in order to acquire Davis and his powerful bat.
WILL DAVIS BE BACK IN 2018?
Davis has enjoyed his tenure with the A’s and has expressed an interest to remain with Oakland. Given the fact, however, that his defense ranks below average and his strikeouts remain exceedingly high, is Davis worth keeping around?
That will be a question on the minds of many individuals in Oakland’s front office.
Davis has slashed .242/.331/.514 with 39 HR and 102 RBI over 143 games this year. His strikeout rate (31.2%) is higher this year compared to last season (27.2%) and that should be a concern.
Strikeouts are to be expected with Davis given his approach at the plate. He offers plenty of power at the plate, but he will post his fair share of strikeouts. It is and has been a trade off that the A’s seem to have accepted.
Davis will be 30 in December, though, and will also cost the A’s a bit more next season. He ranks 2nd in the American League in home runs and 4th in RBIs. He will receive a nice raise next year through arbitration.
Davis may not garner much media attention with the small-market A’s, but his value to the team warrants some praise. The A’s struck gold when they acquired Davis from the Brewers in exchange for prospect Jacob Nottingham and pitcher Bubba Derby.
Davis has provided the A’s with plenty of offense and late game dramatics. His time with Oakland will likely extend well into 2018, but the possibility of him being traded remains realistic. Given that Beane and the A’s are in the midst of rebuilding the franchise, no one, not even Davis is safe from elimination.