Yankees Acquire J.D. Davis

The Yankees announced this afternoon that they’ve acquired infielder J.D. Davis and cash considerations from the A’s in exchange infielder Jordan Groshans. Davis had been designated for assignment by the A’s earlier this week. The Yankees transferred right-hander Nick Burdi to the 60-day injured list in order to make room for Davis on the 40-man roster.

Davis, 31, signed with the A’s in late spring after the Giants released Davis during Spring Training in order to get out from under most of the $6.9MM salary he had been awarded in arbitration over the winter. He managed to secure a guarantee of just $2.5MM from Oakland, a far cry from his previously-awarded arbitration salary even after factoring in the roughly $1.1MM in termination pay he received from San Francisco. After that late spring controversy, Davis went on to appear in 39 games with the A’s where he slashed a roughly league average .236/.304/.366 in 135 trips to the plate while splitting time between first base, third base, and DH.

While his offensive numbers this year leave something to be desired, Davis’s positional versatility and track record as an above-average hitter make him a perfect fit for the Yankees’ current needs. The club lost starting DH Giancarlo Stanton to the injured list earlier today, and first baseman Anthony Rizzo was also placed on the shelf not long ago due to a fractured forearm. Rookie Ben Rice has scuffled a bit in his first few games replacing Rizzo at first base, while the club has no obvious alternative to Stanton as an everyday DH in-house. Even at third base, where the club is currently relying on the combination of Oswaldo Cabrera and DJ LeMahieu, the club has gotten a wRC+ of just 78 that ranks second-worst in the AL ahead of only the White Sox.

More to come…