The Texas Rangers and Oakland A’s made an interesting deal during the offseason. Designated hitter Khris Davis, along with Jonah Heim and Dane Acker, headed to Texas in exchange for Elvis Andrus and Aramis Garcia. It was clearly a salary dump on both sides; the Rangers were looking to get out from under the two years left on Andrus’ contract while the A’s wanted to save some money to upgrade their roster.
While Andrus has been able to exist in the A’s lineup, the same could not be said for Davis and the Rangers. He was designated for assignment on Tuesday as Texas brought Eli White up to the majors.
Khris Davis has been designated for assignment
— Evan Grant (@Evan_P_Grant) June 8, 2021
Khris Davis unable to recapture magic with Texas Rangers
There was a time when Davis was one of the more consistent, and feared, sluggers in the game. He infamously had a .247 batting average from 2015 through 2018, hitting over 40 homers in each of the final three years. He was a key part of the A’s lineup, a true power threat that few other teams had.
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But then it all fell apart in 2019. He started the year strongly, becoming the first player in the majors to reach double digits in homers, but then injured himself after running into a wall while chasing a foul ball in an interleague game. Davis admitted that the injury affected him going forward, and he was never able to recapture his previous form.
The Rangers had hoped that a change of scenery would make a difference. However, Davis missed the first month of the season with a strained quad. When he returned, he was even worse than he had been in Oakland, posting a .157/.262/.333 batting line in his 61 plate appearances, hitting just two homers.
At this point, it is fair to wonder if Davis will ever recapture his form. That injury had seemed minor at the time, as he only missed ten days, but it clearly had an impact upon his performance. At 33 years old, he should still have several decent years ahead, but his time may have already passed him by.
It has been a sudden drop for Khris Davis. The former Oakland A’s designated hitter has continued to struggle, being designated for assignment by the Texas Rangers.