The Oakland Athletics added a familiar face to their MLB roster on Wednesday, as veteran Khris Davis was promoted to the big-league team.
Davis has a lot of history with the A’s.
He spent five seasons with the organization from 2016 to 2020 before being traded to the Texas Rangers this past offseason.
He started the 2021 season with the Rangers, but he was ultimately designated for assignment in early June.
That opened the door for the Athletics to scoop him up.
They signed him to a minor-league deal, and he proceeded to exceed expectations at the Triple-A level.
As a reward, he was called up as soon as the calendar turned to September.
What should A’s fans expect from the former seventh-round pick in his second stint with the team?
He Might Not Be The Player He Used To Be, But The Hope Is That He Can Show Flashes Of His Old Self
Davis was one of the most underrated players in baseball for several years.
Playing in a small market like Oakland, it seemed like a lot of MLB fans failed to take notice of him.
He posted three consecutive 40-homer seasons from 2016 to 2018, and he even led the league in that category one year.
During the three-year stretch, he posted a fantastic slugging percentage of .534 and complemented it with a 131 OPS+.
He finished all three seasons with more than 100 runs batted in.
The slugger received MVP votes in both the 2017 and 2018 seasons, though he was somehow never named to an All-Star team.
It’s safe to say that he was a diamond in the rough for Oakland.
Unfortunately, his production took a big dip after 2018.
He posted a .679 OPS in 2019, .632 OPS in 2020, and .596 OPS with the Rangers during his short stint with them this year.
He finished with a negative WAR in both the 2019 and 2020 campaigns, and so far, he also has a negative WAR this season.
The hope is that Davis will be able to channel some of his better years during his second stint with the A’s.
It’s not impossible to think that he could.
With just a month remaining in the regular season, he could conceivably get hot and catch lightning in a bottle.
If His Recent Triple-A Stint Is Any Indication, He Still Has Some Gas Left In The Tank
Make of this what you want, but Davis crushed the ball during his recent Triple-A stint for Oakland.
He appeared in 16 games and posted an insane slash line of .333/.382/.921, homering 10 times along the way.
If you don’t feel like doing the math, that’s a 1.303 OPS.
He’s more than deserving of the opportunity he’s getting with the big-league team.
He’s swinging a hot bat right now, and the A’s are hoping that it will carry over.
Oakland is fighting to stay alive in the playoff race, as the team is currently two games back of the Boston Red Sox for the second Wild Card spot in the American League.
It would be a fantastic story if Davis were to help guide the A’s to a playoff bid in the final month of the season.
We’ll have to wait and see if there’s any magic in the air for Oakland this season.
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