Los Angeles Dodgers relief pitcher Noah Davis (56) delivers to the plate in the seventh inning Pittsburgh Pirates at Dodger Stadium on April 25. Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Ex-Dodgers Pitcher Cut Again With Highest ERA Since 1890

Originally posted on Los Angeles Dodgers on SI
By J.P. Hoornstra | Last updated Sep 6, 2025 11:30 AM ET

The Dodgers said good riddance to Noah Davis in July, not long after he allowed 10 runs in 1.1 innings in a game against the Houston Astros.

The Minnesota Twins just did the same.

Davis had a 19.50 ERA across five appearances when he was designated for assignment by the Dodgers on July 11. Three days later, the Dodgers traded him to the Twins, who perhaps figured Davis' ERA could only come down from there.

They were right. The right-hander allowed a mere nine earned runs in five innings, lowering his ERA from 19.50 to 18.00. Minnesota outrighted Davis off its 40-man roster Friday in order to activate Pablo Lopez from the injured list.

Earlier, the #MNTwins outrighted Noah Davis off the 40-man to make space for Pablo López, who was activated off the 60-day IL.
— DanHayesMLB (@DanHayesMLB) September 5, 2025

According to Aaron Gleeman of The Athletic, Davis' career 9.54 ERA is the worst by any pitcher with at least 60 innings pitched since 1890.

The folly in both the Twins' and Dodgers' employment of Davis is that he's done this before. From 2022-24, Davis made 18 appearances for the Colorado Rockies, totaling 51.1 frames and allowing 47 runs (44 earned) — a 7.71 ERA.

A free agent after last season, Davis signed with the Boston Red Sox last December and spent spring training in their Florida camp. Davis held opposing hitters to a .206 batting average, striking out nine and walking one across four Grapefruit League appearances.

Those numbers mostly carried over to Triple-A Oklahoma City. In 21 games with the Comets, he limited batters to a .207 average while striking out 38 and walking 15 in 32 innings.

Then with the Twins' top farm team, the St. Paul Saints, Davis again limited opponents to a .195 batting average while striking out 11 and walking seven in 11.1 innings.

For whatever reason, Davis simply hasn't been able to translate his success at the Triple-A level to the majors — first in Los Angeles, then in Minnesota — in 2025.

Davis "earned" his way onto the all-time ERA list (the bad one) by edging past Hayden Penn. A right-handed reliever, Penn was pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates on April 11, 2010 when he allowed four runs in one-third of an inning.

Penn never appeared in another major league game, leaving him with a career ERA of 9.51. Until Davis, the only player with a higher career ERA over 60+ innings in baseball history (according to Baseball Reference) is William Stecher of the 1890 Philadelphia Athletics.

Stecher went 0-10 with a 10.32 ERA in 10 games for the A's in his only professional season at the big league level. Davis isn't challenging that record for now, and it wouldn't be a surprise if no team gives him the chance.