Khris Davis hella loves Oakland, signs two-year, $33 million extension

Khris Davis has spent three seasons with the A’s, and he doesn’t plan on going anywhere.

Oakland announced a two-year contract extension with the 31-year-old power hitter that will allow Davis to stay in Oakland through 2021 while earning $33 million.

After seven seasons with the Brewers before being traded to the A’s in 2016, Davis has made quite a name for himself in the city of Oakland. Last season his career-high 48 home runs led the majors, and he seems to already be following that path in 2019, with 10 homers in just 21 games.

The power hitter is happy to be staying in Oakland and said didn’t worry too much about his contract and has just been focused on baseball. Davis said loves his team, this city, and the food:

“I just love coming to the ballpark. That’s where I spend most of my days… I just love the players I get to play with… I’ve learned a lot and I just like experiencing the season with these guys and you learn things… I kind of see it like we’re like at a baseball school almost.”

Davis thinks the team could get to go to the playoffs again and again, and said he has no doubt a playoff appearance is in the A’s future. He said there is a lot of youth here, and it is a team he wants to be a part of.

Since Davis, joined the A’s in 2016, he has hit 143 home runs, 19 more than 29-year-old Giancarlo Stanton over that time. Stanton started the 2015 season earning $6.6 million, and after this season will make around $26 million until 2028.

Davis has a strong bond with his teammates and said he enjoys getting to see players like Marcus Semien, Matt Chapman and Chad Pinder, and that he didn’t want to give up the opportunity to be able to consistently see those faces.

Davis is not known to talk about himself, and is a very humble guy. Bob Melvin helped paint the picture on what kind of guy KD really is:

“For a guy that doesn’t say much publicly, if you see our post game celebrations he is usually right in the middle of those. There is a time where he does anything for his teammates. He is a huge part of this team.”  

General Manager David Forst had kind words about Davis:

“What he has done on the field has been incredible. I think what you guys see here today, the support from his teammates and staff is a little bit of what defines Khris off the field. The leader that he is, he doesn’t say a lot, he lets his bat speak but I think we all know how important he is to this team in the clubhouse.”

Forst continued:

“Since the day he got here, he wanted to be in Oakland and we couldn’t be happier to keep him here.”

The feelings are mutual. Oakland is hardly known for keeping their players, frustrating fans over the years. The designated hitter already had the highest salary on the team, and will now earn an extra $250,000 per year. The selfless teammate said he was even willing to take a pay cut, which goes to show it’s not about the money for KD, it’s about the love for the game — and this team.

Davis will be 33 years old when his contract is up, giving him six full seasons with the A’s, the same he had with the Brewers. In Milwaukee, Davis batted .248 with 193 dingers and 497 RBIs. He is already on the path to greater success with the A’s, having passed his home run total in half the time.

From 2016 to 2018, Davis had 133 homers and 335 RBI. He is the 22nd player in MLB history to have 40 home runs in three seasons, making him the third A’s player, after Mark McGwire and Jimmie Foxx, to do so. The back of his baseball card is going to be filled with record-breaking stats and he will continue to make a name for himself with his time in Oakland.

Melvin said:

“He is just the right guy at the right time and you know, it just keeps getting better. We are pretty excited about having him here, not only now but for the long term.

Melvin said he is optimistic that this group of players will stay together:

“Our reputation here is kinda, once they start to make a little money, they move along here and I think they are certainly trying to change that narrative. Moving into a new ballpark would help with that as well, but I think committing to KD kinda shows you, what we hope is kinda the strategy down the road is to sign some of these other guys too.”

The fans love him, his teammates wanted him to stay, he is loved in Oakland, and will be here to help make history for the A’s franchise.