Jonathan Davis: Future Blue Jays CF?

 

Davis has played for the Blue Jays in parts of the last three seasons. His career wRC+ to date is a mere 61. However, most recently in 2020 it was a robust 123. I’m not suggesting that it will definitely be 123 (or close to that) for the rest of his MLB career. But even if it regresses to, say, 100, that and his excellent defence would make him a valuable asset to the Jays.

 

One option mentioned by Bob to upgrade centre field is free agent Jackie Bradley Jr. Bradley has played for the Boston Red Sox from 2013-2020. He has a career wRC+ of 93. His 119 in 2020 was very good; however in his three seasons prior it was no higher than 90.

 

While it is certainly possible that Bradley would be better overall than Davis, would he add enough extra value to the team to justify the money they would need to spend to sign him to a free agent contract? Might that money be better spend on other needs such as solidifying the starting rotation? Also, Toronto has several young players who will be arbitration eligible in 1-2 years. If they want to keep a majority of this young core together and try to win with them, it would help for them to save some money in other areas.

 

Another factor to consider is age. Bradley is 30 years old. Davis is two years younger at 28. I’m not suggesting Bradley is “over the hill” in MLB terms by any means. It’s also true that people age at different rates. But at some point, players start to slow down. All things being equal, it’s possible that Davis remaining days as an elite defensive OF might be longer than Bradley’s.

 

The Blue Jays have other players capable of putting runs on the board. Take a look at some wRC+ numbers from 2020:

 

Alejandro Kirk  169

Teoscar Hernandez 146

Lourdes Gurriel Jr.138

Rowdy Tellez 136

Cavan Biggio 127

Bo Bichette 125

Vladimir Guerrero Jr.115

 

Kirk in particular did what he did over a very small sample size. It’s certainly possible there will be some regression in terms of his future offensive production. The point is that even if Davis proves not to be a good offensive player, he could bat 9th and let the other guys take care of scoring runs.

 

Davis is under team control through the end of the 2024 season. Making the commitment to giving him the starting CF job will allow management to solidify plans for other areas of need.

 

 

 

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