Boston Red Sox Have Acquired Speedster Rajai Davis From Oakland
The Boston Red Sox have acquired Oakland Athletics outfielder Rajai Davis.
Evan Drellich of CSNNE was the first with the news with Drellich crediting the A’s extra inning affair with Baltimore Orioles being the reason for the hold-up.
Minor League Outfielder In Exchange For Davis
In exchange for Davis, the Boston Red Sox will send minor league outfielder Rafael Rincones back to Oakland according to the official release by the team.
Rincones is a 19-year-old prospect that has been playing for the Red Sox affiliate in the Dominican Summer League. He has a .264 career batting average with 2 home runs and 39 RBIs. Rincones was undrafted and signed by the Red Sox as an international free agent in August of 2015.
Rumblings Started Early In The Afternoon With A Pawtucket Red Sox Infielder Being DFA’d
In the afternoon on Wednesday, the first rumblings of a waiver trade were made after a report by Nick Carfardo of the Boston Globe. In order to acquire Davis, Boston first had to clear a roster spot.
To add Rajai Davis to the 40 man roster, the Red Sox designated Steve Selsky for assignment. Selsky played in 8 games for the Red Sox this season, where he had 1 hit in 9 at-bats. Since being sent to AAA Pawtucket on April 28th, Selsky has struggled. In 79 games, Selsky hit .215 with 11 home runs, and 39 RBI’s.
Seslky left McCoy Stadium shortly after it was announced he was the DFA. He did not leave the park with any of his belongings and is expected to rejoin the PawSox tomorrow.
What Davis Brings To The Table For The Boston Red Sox
In terms of Davis, he provides outfield depth with the injury to Jackie Bradley Jr., and he provides some much-needed speed to the Boston Red Sox.
Davis is 36-years-old and the Norwich, Connecticut native should sound very familiar to Boston Red Sox fans. Davis has 10 years of American League experience including three seasons with AL East rival Toronto. What he brings to Boston is speed.
Davis has stolen 30+ bases in a season a total of 7 times in his career and he is on pace to do it once more this year. For the Oakland Athletics this season he has stolen 26 bases. As a whole, he is .233 on the season in 300 at-bats. Production at the plate isn’t why the Red Sox acquired him though.
Davis instantly becomes the best base stealer on the team. His 26 stolen bads are 8 higher than the highest on the Red Sox. Mookie Betts has 18, Andrew Benintendi 15, and Xander Bogaerts 11. Every other player on the team is sub-10. Come October, the need for speed on the bases and the ability to insert a legit pinch runner is immense.
Think Quienten Berry (2013) and Dave Roberts (2004). That is what Davis is expected to bring to the table.
In terms of placement, he can play center field till the return of Jackie Bradley Jr. Davis in 2017 has played 79 games in center for Oakland with a .987 fielding percentage in 572 innings logged.
What To Expect Going Forward
One would assume that Boston will use Davis in the field with Bradley being placed on the 10-day-dl with a sprained left thumb. Davis can also play left or right field until Bradley returns, Davis will likely serve as the fourth outfielder.
Once Bradley returns, Davis will likely be used almost exclusively as a pinch runner late in games. A role that will be crucial to October baseball success.
