While it's been said that the Orioles have "pulled" the $154-million, seven-year offer to slugger Chris Davis, owner Peter Angelos and Davis' agent Scott Boras continue to have dialogue by phone and continue debate whether that is the appropriate offer.
The two sides spoke as recently as mid-week.
Boras' claim is that the $22 million yearly figure is about what was paid to Jacoby Ellsbury, exactly what was paid to Hanley Ramirez and less than Jason Heyward got. And none of those players slugs like Davis.
While Orioles people are investigating other possibilities, it seems likely that to this point Angelos hasn't given the go-ahead to sign someone to truly replace Davis. And as Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun reported, the Orioles are unlikely to offer a nine-figure deal to anyone else, which may give Davis the upper hand.
Yes, Davis is the one Angelos wants, that's clear. And Baltimore still seems to be the most logical landing spot for Davis, whose 126 home runs during the past three seasons are the most in the majors.
