Oakland Athletics: Should we be concerned about Khris Davis?
The Oakland Athletics re-signed slugger Khris Davis to a two-year extension worth over $33 million this past April. But since the beginning of July, his bat has gone quiet.
It was only a season ago that Oakland Athletics designated hitter/outfielder Khris Davis came in eighth in MVP voting and finished the season with a whopping 48 home runs. Now, over halfway through the 2019 season, he has just 16 to his name.
Since he joined the A’s in 2016, Davis has always batted fourth in the lineup. In Wednesday’s 10-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners, however, that changed. In order to give Davis a fresh start, A’s manager Bob Melvin moved him down to sixth in the batting order with Mark Canha taking the clean-up spot.
According to Martin Gallegos of MLB.com, Melvin says this move is only temporary until Davis finds his groove with the bat again.
"“Just a change of scenery for Khris. I was trying to think back to whether or not he’s hit anywhere but fourth for us. It’s been a while. Sometimes you struggle a little bit, and a change of scenery can help. He’ll be back in the four-spot at some time. I have no doubt. Just trying to get him a different look.”"
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Davis did produce a hit and a run in Wednesday’s contest. Still, his last homer was back on June 18th against the Baltimore Orioles.
It is odd to see such a powerful player struggling while his team is on a winning streak. Since the All-Star break ended, the A’s are undefeated.
They swept the Chicago White Sox and the Mariners and will head to Minnesota to take on the Twins next. The rest of the team is on a hot streak in their kelly green jerseys, but not Davis. It’s just not his month.
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So, should we A’s fans be concerned? The short answer is, no.
Players struggle sometimes. They’re human just like us, which some fans can tend to forget. Even Mike Trout has a bad day.
Davis is in a slump right now. It could be mental, it could be physical, it could just be pure luck.
Earlier this month, Davis told Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle that he has been struggling with an ongoing hand injury which came as a result of him being hit by a pitch.
"“It’s just not as strong as it should be. I’ve been choking up a little bit, and that’s been helping a little, but not a lot of power guys choke up.”"
As the A’s make their way into the pennant chase, we can only hope that Davis will get back to “KHRUSHing” bombs in no time.
The good news is that even though Davis is struggling, his teammates are red hot. It’s better to focus on winning as a team, rather than to focus on one player’s struggles.
Next. Oakland Athletics: What positions should the team target at the trade deadline?. dark
There are still over two months of regular season baseball left. And that is plenty of time for ‘KD’ to get his power back and get back on track.