OT: Tigers sign Rajai Davis

Submitted by Moleskyn on

Tigers have signed OF Rajai Davis to a two-year deal, in the range of $9-10 million ($4-5 million/year). Here's a link to his stats page. And a summary from MLB Trade Rumors:

Davis, 33, hasn't played in an everyday role for the Blue Jays over the last three seasons, but has seen enough action to rack up nearly 1,200 plate appearances, recording a .252/.299/.369 slash line. The speedster has also added 125 stolen bases over that period. That batting line may not be particularly impressive, but his .297/.363/.455 line against left-handed pitchers dating back to 2011 certainly is.

Not a blockbuster signing, but I like it. He's got good speed, can hit for average, and looks to be about an average-to-below average fielder. I think this could turn out to be a good signing.

Cold War

December 10th, 2013 at 12:31 PM ^

The team is unquestionably weaker where it sits now.

Kinsler/Infante is a wash, and we're losing two big sticks (Peralta and Fielder, no matter how disliked they were) and replacig them with a completely unproven rookie at third and a light hitting shortstop. The rotation is definitely weaker with out Fister.

There is a slight upgrade to Nathan in the pen (Benoit was actually pretty damn good) but it doesn't begin to offset where we've regressed.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 10th, 2013 at 12:39 PM ^

Most of the critics talked about nothing but how bad the infield defense was and how slow the team was in the field and on the basepaths, and how bad the bullpen was.  DD apparently decided they were right.  I realize you may not have been one of them, but finding a guy with Peralta's bat and Iglesias's glove costs $18 million.

Syyk

December 10th, 2013 at 1:17 PM ^

I would have liked to see them add another big bat (particularly Choo), but it's clear they didn't want to take on anymore large contracts at the moment. However, theyr'e revamping the roster away from a power-hitting lineup, to one with better defense, more speed and better baserunning. That suites CoPa better than the more stationary lineup they had before.

But to address your arguments... Kinsler/Infante is not a wash. Infante had a career year (or clsoe to it) last season. He has a career .721 OPS and has hit more than 15 HRs once in 12 seasons. Kinsler has a career .804 OPS and has hit over 30 HRs twice. In fact he has over twice as many career HRs (156) than Infante (74), in four fewer seasons. He also steals far more bases than Infante. Yes, Kinsler has had a down couple of yaers, but even then his numbers are better than Infante's (with the exception of last year). I like Infante a lot, but to argue that he was anything other than an average 2B offensively is silly.

Peralta is certainly a loss offensively, but I think a lot of Tigers fans overrate his 2011 and forget just how dysmal he was in 2012. He bounced back in 2013, but we're looking at a guy with a career .755 OPS and some nice pop for a SS. While not a defensive liability, he was losing significant range as he got into his 30s. Iglesias is a huge defensive upgrade over him, and still an extremely young and raw hitter.

The loss of Fielder's power certainly hurts, but hopefully it can be made up for with the improvements in defense and speed. This team is built completely differentlly than the Tigers of the past. They're going to be manufacturing a lot more runs, and hopefully the defense will save a lot of runs, too. I thikn Porcello will particularly be helped by it.

They really need to sign a few more arms for the bullpen, though. I'm hoping for Jesse Crain, at least.

umchicago

December 10th, 2013 at 1:53 PM ^

but a platoon of dirks/davis may put up pretty good #s; very choo-like, for a fraction of the cost.  now, if DD goes out and gets a lefty hitter that can poke 15-20 HRs, i think the team is pretty much set to start the season.  the O will be down a bit, but the D will be much improved.  once the season unfolds a bit, DD will likely go out and fill any holes.  just my two cents.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 10th, 2013 at 12:49 PM ^

Two players with normalized 600-at-bat seasons from their 2013 numbers:

A: .256-12-51, OPS .686.  Career BA .276, career OPS .745, career FP .986

B: .260-11-44, OPS .687.  Career BA .268, career OPS .693, career FP .986

Obviously one is Davis and one is Dirks.  Other than the basepath speed, why is one so obviously better than the other?

The answer is that Tigers fans seem to always hate what they have and want what they don't have.

MaizeAndBlueWahoo

December 10th, 2013 at 3:13 PM ^

Let's face it though: I know that's not what was specifically said here, but when people complain about Dirks, foot speed is not usually why.

The platoon is probably a good idea, and Davis will be very useful in PR situations, but hopefully people aren't expecting him to be an upgrade at the plate, except to the extent that the platoon does that.

Schembo

December 10th, 2013 at 11:41 AM ^

I like the signing.  It's hard to believe how radically different this team is from last year.  The lack of power makes me nervous and there's alot riding on Martinez and his ability to protect Cabrera in the lineup.

coldnjl

December 10th, 2013 at 12:11 PM ^

this actually suits them better for their home park....speed, defense, and line-drive power plays well in this park and will give them a slight advantage vs. many teams...an advantage that they didn't have last year...

I guess this means that the Choo deal is dead

not TOM BRADY

December 10th, 2013 at 11:44 AM ^

He is going to platoon with Dirks or maybe someone else's. Davis crushes left handed pitching.



I would like to see the tigers to trade for Domonic Brown. Wouldn't come cheap but the team still needs a left handed bat.

Michigan4Life

December 10th, 2013 at 1:12 PM ^

Dirk against righties and Davis against lefties.  You maximize both players value.  Look at the A's, they pretty much platoon a lot of players and they were successful last season, winning the division.  Yes, they lost to the Tigers in the playoff because Tigers have better pitching.  Tigers will still have better pitching in the playoff with JV, Max and Anibal (all essentially aces).  If they can improve the production and depth from the roster as whole, the Tigers should be a better team in the long run with less money on the book.

WMUgoblue

December 10th, 2013 at 11:47 AM ^

He's pretty bad against righties so obviously Dirks still looks to get more AB's but Davis is a perfect platoon partner, and pinch runner. Now time to get to work on the bullpen Dombrowski.

LSAClassOf2000

December 10th, 2013 at 11:47 AM ^

I like this signing as well, just perusing the stats page at Fangraphs. Perhaps most notably, I like the idea of having someone who can get on base and is a realizable threat to steal a base or two. I don't think we've had someone like that for a while in the lineup - it is a nice added dimension to any offense. 

scottmaure

December 10th, 2013 at 11:53 AM ^

Take it from....I hate that the Jays let this guy walk. Down a run in the 8th or 9th and with him pinch running it was a given he'd be on 2nd and almost a lock that he'd be in 3rd. I believe he leads MLB in steals of 3rd the past 4 seasons and was 2nd to Ellsbury in total SB's last year with far less playing time. Great signing.

umchicago

December 10th, 2013 at 2:07 PM ^

i just don't understand the rush to trade fister.  i think he could have got a lot more had he waited for the winter meetings (going on now) got multiple offers and took the best deal at that time.  i doubt there was a rush on the guys we got in return.

coldnjl

December 10th, 2013 at 12:29 PM ^

and your point??? This team got to the finals the last few years with their past build, yet never advanced and lost to teams who had many qualities more comparable to this team. Their is still money available, so lets see what they will do before judging. Staying the same would have been the worst thing of all.