Reds land Davidson on Minors deal

January 10th, 2020

The Reds have agreed to a Minor League deal with infielder Matt Davidson that includes an invitation to Major League Spring Training.

Davidson, 28, has previously expressed his desire to be a legitimate two-way player in the Major Leagues. He appeared as a pitcher in three games with the White Sox in 2018, retiring all but two of the 11 hitters he faced and memorably striking out Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton. Davidson has also shown flashes of elite power, knocking three homers with an exit velocity of 113.9 mph or harder, per Statcast, for Chicago on Opening Day in ’18.

But making consistent contact has been a struggle for Davidson, who has struck out in 35.2 percent of his career plate appearances across parts of three Major League seasons. The Rangers signed Davidson to a Minor League deal prior to the 2019 season after the White Sox non-tendered him, but he failed to make an appearance for Texas’ big league club. Davidson finished the ’19 campaign with a .264 average, 33 homers and 151 strikeouts across 124 games with Triple-A Nashville before entering free agency again.