Minnesota Twins Rumors: Rajai Davis
Are the Minnesota Twins interested in Rajai Davis?
According to a report, the Minnesota Twins have interest in free agent outfielder Rajai Davis. Could the speedster be a fit for the Twins? The club has stated an intention to take a look at 4th outfielders. Rajai fits that description. The Twins are one of three teams who are apparently interested. Cleveland Indians beat reporter Paul Hoynes tweeted out the rumor:
Indians, Texas and Twins interested in FA outfielder Rajai Davis.
— paul hoynes (@hoynsie) December 9, 2015
More from Puckett's Pond
- Minnesota Twins: What happens next at Shortstop?
- Minnesota Twins: Grading the Twins’ Joey Gallo signing
- Minnesota Twins: 4 Possible Trade Chips not named Kepler or Arraez
- Minnesota Twins: After missing out on Correa, what comes next?
- Minnesota Twins: Free Agency should be Ace or Bust for the Rotation
The Twins currently have
Byron Buxton,
Miguel Sano,
Eddie Rosario,
Eduardo Nunez,
Danny Santanaand
Oswaldo Arciain the outfield mix. Santana mostly played short stop last year (not very well), Buxton could possibly begin 2016 in the minors, Sano’s outfield defence is a total unknown, Nunez mostly played the infield and Arcia is a poor fielder who may not even be around come opening day. So, there are certainly plenty of question marks in the outfield. Davis could be answer to some of those questions.
Mike Berardino reports that
“If the #MNTwins acquire a 4th outfielder, he would “ideally” be able to play center
.” Davis checks off that box. He can play all three outfield positions. Davis isn’t a great outfielder but he’s solid. He did manage to make this play after all:
On the offensive side of things, Davis slashed .258/.306/.440 in 2015. He does have some pop with 8 home runs last but his best weapon is his speed. He’s a below average hitter but his skill on the base paths makes him valuable offensively. He has 322 steals in his career—swiping them at a 79% success rate. He’s put up 48.9 baserunning runs in his career. That’s puts him in the top 10 of all active players. His steal totals dipped last year but he improved his effectiveness at the plate (.746 OPS in 2015 vs .703 career).
Next: Sporcle Time! 1987 World Series
In sum, Davis is a sufficient defender, flawed hitter, and an excellent baserunner. Davis has a great attitude and always hustles. He’s a perfect 4th outfielder really. If the dollars makes sense, Rajai would be a great signing and would fit well wherever he’s needed.