WASHINGTON -- Slumping slugger Chris Davis is expected to return to the Orioles' lineup for Friday's series opener in Atlanta.
Davis, who missed his eighth consecutive game on Thursday against the Nationals, has been making offensive adjustments with vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson and hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh, and the group has deemed him good to go.
"That's when they told me they thought would be the right time, he's just about there," manager Buck Showalter said of Davis, who is batting .150 with 86 strikeouts in 57 games.
"I think everybody's had input on it, and looked at it and worked on it, and this is what we want to do. I'm looking forward to getting him back on the field. I'm really looking forward to potentially getting the impactful player that he's capable of being."
Davis declined to talk to the media on Thursday, and hasn't spoken about any of the new adjustments he's made since he was benched. Signed through 2022 to a club-record $161 million deal, Davis twice led the Majors in home runs in a three-year span from 2013-15. But he got off to a very rough start this season and hasn't been able to dig himself out of that hole. While he missed games here and there, this has been a prolonged and -- the O's hope -- purposeful break for Davis.
"Believe me, he is chomping at the bit," Showalter said of Davis. "This is something Chris doesn't like, not playing. It's been tough for him. Really tough. But he knows what we're all trying to accomplish and I'm looking forward to getting him back on the field tomorrow."