First baseman J.D. Davis acquired by Yankees from Oakland for minor league infielder Jordan Groshans
Oakland Athletics’ JD Davis’ celebrates his 3rd inning home run against Colorado Rockies during MLB game at Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, May 21, 2024. (Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)
NEW YORK (AP) — J.D. Davis was acquired by the Yankees from the Oakland Athletics along with cash on Sunday for minor league infielder Jordan Groshans as New York sought reinforcement after first baseman Anthony Rizzo broke a forearm and Giancarlo Stanton strained a hamstring.
Davis hit .232 with four homers and five RBIs in 135 plate appearances with the A’s, who signed him to a $2.5 million contract in mid-March and designated him for assignment on Tuesday. Davis had defeated San Francisco in arbitration and was awarded a $6.9 million salary as part of a nonguaranteed contract, then was released by the Giants and given $1,112,903 in termination pay.
He is hitting .265 this year against left-handers and .225 against right-handers. Davis is likely to see more time at first base than third but also can be a designated hitter.
“Right-handed bat, so he can fit into a platoon situation,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said after Sunday’s 3-1 loss to Atlanta. “Hopefully come here and give us a little spark.”
Davis, 31, has a .273 average with 119 homers and 386 RBIs in eight seasons with Houston (2017-18), the New York Mets (2019-22), Giants (2022-23) and A’s.
Rizzo broke his right forearm on June 16 and is expected to be sidelined until August. Stanton, the Yankees’ primary designated hitter, strained his left hamstring on Saturday.
New York called up Ben Rice from the minors to fill in at first in Rizzo’s absence.
Groshans, 24, hit .232 with one home run and 15 RBIs in 50 games this year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Somerset. He was claimed by the Yankees off waivers from Miami on Feb. 13.
“I’m assuming that he’ll probably go to Double-A for us to play shortstop every day,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said before his team hosted Minnesota. “I think as early as next week, Jack Wilson will be back with the Triple-A team. And obviously, Nick Allen’s there. So there’s some depth in the middle right now. It’s just nice to have another player that can play the middle.”
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