Davis is 2015 version of Mussina

[25 Nuggets]

There is some small amount of theoretical space between signing Chris Davis to a 5/120 deal and handing the job to Christian Walker. Few things irk me more than the false scarcity of solutions. This is causing flashbacks to the cries of "if we don't sign Prince Fielder there won't be any more good first basemen to acquire for five years!!!@@!"

Sorry; I was irked by the "pipe dream" comment myself. The team could sign Parra and he might have more good seasons. They could sign Mike Napoli and he may have a terrific age 35 season. They could get Enrico Palazzo from Timbuktu, who we don't know about yet, and he could rake. Of course there ways to replace Davis' production. I can't imagine they do nothing with so much money off the books.

With what they've got right now, committed to 2016, they look like a sub .500 team.

[DrungoHazewood]

Sorry; I was irked by the "pipe dream" comment myself. The team could sign Parra and he might have more good seasons. They could sign Mike Napoli and he may have a terrific age 35 season. They could get Enrico Palazzo from Timbuktu, who we don't know about yet, and he could rake. Of course there ways to replace Davis' production. I can't imagine they do nothing with so much money off the books.

With what they've got right now, committed to 2016, they look like a sub .500 team.

There are probably a lot of teams with money coming off the books that, if they fail to do anything much, look like poor teams. I trust that Duquette will make some reasonable acquisitions to put the Orioles in a better competitive position. If he doesn't, well... then I (shudder) join the webbrick pitchfork crowd.

[24fps]

If Jones sounds off to the media about keeping Davis, you can bet that it will have the opposite effect. No owner is going to let the players push around the organization. If Jones wants to have any influence, he should be trying to convince Davis to stay with a winning team by taking a team-friendly deal.

Advice that results in lost money in not good for the credibility necessary to have influence.

[Babypowder]

It's rare, but once in a while, a player will assert himself with Boras.

The 2 examples that I can think of off the top of my head are Jeremy Guthrie (who fired Boras back in 2008) and Alex Rodriguez (who told Boras to pipe down after Boras made public statements during the 2007 World Series between the Red Sox and the Rockies that Rodriguez was "underpaid and under-appreciated" by the Yankees in an effort to put pressure on them to give him a raise and an extension, rather than just finishing out the 10-year contract that he had originally signed with the Rangers prior to the 2001 season.)

There are lots of team that will be interested, most notably Boston. I assume someone out there will be willing to go to around 6/120, I still don't see the Orioles coming close enough to that for he and Boras to even consider it, nor would I want them to.

[MurphDogg]

There are probably a lot of teams with money coming off the books that, if they fail to do anything much, look like poor teams. I trust that Duquette will make some reasonable acquisitions to put the Orioles in a better competitive position. If he doesn't, well... then I (shudder) join the webbrick pitchfork crowd.

Right, all the people that call DD cheap in failing to sign Cruz and Markakis have to ignore the fact that the payroll has been increasing 10-15 percent each of the last three years. Obviously the payroll isn't going to go from $120 million to $60 million. Free agents will be signed this offseason, the payroll will stay in the $110-130 million range

[osfan83]

I know I'm a broken record on this... but the teams needs to look at long term expense when it comes to Manny. MM will be more valuable and for a longer time than Davis. Start working in October to get Manny signed to an extention...then work on Davis or a replacement after you know when you have left to spend.

[TINSTAAPP]

Also keep in mind Duquette let Mo Vaughn go after he posted this season with the Red Sox.

40 HRs, 115 RBIs, .337/.402/.591, 153 OPS+, 4th place in MVP voting

And Duquette turned out to be 100% right in his decision to let Vaughn sign with another team. Vaughn was plagued with injuries after he signed the big contract with the Angels and never regained the form he had with the Red Sox.

[Old#5fan]

Who says they will? Not spending 120 million dollars on Davis is not the same thing as not making any acquisitions. I don't believe the team falls apart next year without wildly overpaying Davis. They were pretty good last year while Davis was sucking and/or not present if I recall.

True but they also had Cruz last year who was better than Davis. Next year w/o either one they will be every bit as bad as the Rays offensively and won't have their pitching. I see them as dead last and 10-11 games under 500 w/o Davis.

[Babypowder]

True but they also had Cruz last year who was better than Davis. Next year w/o either one they will be every bit as bad as the Rays offensively and won't have their pitching. I see them as dead last and 10-11 games under 500 w/o Davis.

2014 Cruz was not better than 2015 Davis. My point was 2014 Davis wasn't very good and the team somehow found a way to be pretty good without any nine figure offseason acquisitions. Also, if you're paying him 20+ million then 2014's production hurts quite a bit more. He has a skillset that is already volatile and typically doesn't age well. Whatever he ends up getting, it will be a super risky contract. That's obviously fine for the Red Sox, not so much for the Orioles.

Also, are you implying Davis is roughly a 12 win player?

[Elbren]

I'm not sure I understand this comparison.

- Mussina was, arguably, the best pitcher this team had produced since Palmer.

- Davis, while good, is an average hitter who strikes out a ton, but gets by on his (albeit, impressive) power.

- Mussina wanted to stay and would have if this team hadn't d*cked around and just given him a market value deal.

- Davis, despite anything he has or will say, is a Boras client and will go to free agency. Like all Boras clients, he is going to take the biggest deal possible, no matter where it is.

How are these two even remotely similar?

[SteveO]

I'm not sure I understand this comparison.

- Mussina was, arguably, the best pitcher this team had produced since Palmer.

- Davis, while good, is an average hitter who strikes out a ton, but gets by on his (albeit, impressive) power.

- Mussina wanted to stay and would have if this team hadn't d*cked around and just given him a market value deal.

- Davis, despite anything he has or will say, is a Boras client and will go to free agency. Like all Boras clients, he is going to take the biggest deal possible, no matter where it is.

How are these two even remotely similar?

They are not.

Chris Davis could not sniff Mussina's jock strap in terms of talent and ability. Mussina is a guy for whom a pretty good case can be made for HOF candidacy. I doubt anyone will ever make that case for CD.

CD is a good player but far from a great one

[Uli2001]

Take the 100 mil or whatever is the amount and spend it all on pitching, especially starting pitching. See'ya later Davis.

[Bird Dog]

I don't pretend to have all the answers, and I defended Duke about last offseason, but another offseason of letting proven guys go and replacing them with the Travis Snider's of the world is not going to sit well with me, and I'm sure ticket sales will be hit hard.

I agree with this 100%.

[TouchemAll]

And this franchise is facing the biggest contract decision since Angelos let Mussina walk. Davis can be a maddening layer but the fact is he is an elite power hitting run producer who will be sorely missed if he goes. Buck has done a remarkable job of creating a winning culture, but that culture requires talent. The failure of this past offseason has set us back this year. If Davis leaves this thing can quickly become a house of cards.

I see Adam Jones as the major spokesperson that will tip this thing one way or the other. Adam left little doubt that he wasn't happy about Nick and Cruz leaving. If this team, this clubhouse, this franchise now lose Davis and others......why would Jones want to stick around for another rebuild? Why would Machado sign a long contract with a team that isn't committed to winning?

Davis is the tipping point and Jones is the mouthpiece. Don't be surprised to see Jones step up and push Angelos to re-sign Davis and if it doesn't happen, ask for a trade. What you gonna do Pete?

Davis will walk BOOK It! Boras and PA will see to that.

[DrungoHazewood]

Also, are you implying Davis is roughly a 12 win player?

If you'd get your head out of Excel and Fangraphs you'd know that's true. Don't you ever watch baseball games? (Just to be sure this isn't misunderstood: etc)