Showalter: Scuffling Davis' return to lineup not 'imminent'
Mired in a horrific, season-long slump, Chris Davis was held out of the Baltimore Orioles' lineup Friday for a third straight game, and manager Buck Showalter said it may be a little while before the 32-year-old starts again.
"Chris is continuing with some things that he's working on and when they come to me and say they think he's ready to get back in the lineup, I'll put him back in there, but it's nothing imminent," Showalter told MASN's Roch Kubatko.
In Davis' stead, Corban Joseph - a 29-year-old journeyman who last played in the big leagues in 2013 - will start at first base for Friday's series opener against the Miami Marlins at Camden Yards.
Through his first 57 games in 2018, Davis - now in the third season of a seven-year, $161-million contract - has been positively helpless, hitting just .150/.227/.227 with four home runs and a whopping 37.6 percent strikeout rate. By both wRC+ (24) and wins above replacement (-1.9), Davis has been the worst player in the majors this season, and he's somehow gotten worse in recent weeks, going just 6-for-60 (.100) with no extra-base hits over his last 17 contests.
Davis' woes at the plate have become so extreme, in fact, that a Baltimore bar is now offering patrons free shots whenever the former All-Star gets a base hit.