Davis told Martin Gallegos of MLB.com over the weekend that he has retired from professional baseball.
Davis hadn't played in the big leagues since 2021, and his most recent professional action came in the independent Atlantic League of Professional Baseball during the 2022 season. With his opportunities in baseball drying up, Davis has since elected to pursue a career as an auto mechanic. The 36-year-old outfielder/designated hitter was one of the game's top power hitters during his prime seasons with Oakland, slugging at least 40 home runs in each year from 2016 through 2018. He retires with a lifetime .242 average, 221 home runs, 590 RBI and 506 runs over 980 career MLB games with the Brewers, Athletics and Rangers across parts of nine seasons.
Davis signed a contract April 5 with the Diablos Rojos del Mexico of the Mexican League.
Davis will head south of the border to continue his career after he wasn't able to secure a minor-league deal with an invitation to big-league spring training earlier this offseason. The 34-year-old slugger has six MLB seasons of at least 20 home runs and three of at least 40 home runs on his resume, but his production has nosedived over his past two years in the big leagues. Between stops with Oakland and Texas over the 2020 and 2021 campaigns, Davis has slashed .203/.286/.348 (77 wRC+) across 213 plate appearances.
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Athletics' Khris Davis: Sitting Tuesday
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Davis is not starting Tuesday against the Mariners, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Davis has been Oakland's primary DH against lefty starters since joining the major-league roster in early September, but he'll take a seat against southpaw Tyler Anderson on Tuesday. Yan Gomes will serve as the designated hitter as Sean Murphy catches for Chris Bassitt.
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Athletics' Khris Davis: Sitting again Wednesday
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Davis is not in the lineup Wednesday against the Mariners, Matt Kawahara of the San Francisco Chronicle reports.
Davis finds himself on the bench for the second straight contest after starting the previous three games at designated hitter. Seth Brown will bat eighth as the designated hitter Wednesday.
Davis went 1-for-2 with an RBI double in a loss to the Mariners on Monday.
The timely two-bagger plated Chad Pinder in the third inning for Oakland's first run of the night and helped push Davis' slash line over the last eight games to an impressive .353/.389/.471. The slugger has only logged 18 plate appearances over that span, but he's been making more contact than usual while striking out at a modest 16.7 percent clip in the sample. Davis has a solid .290 average overall across the 13 games he's seen action in during his current A's stint, although he's yet to leave the yard.
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Athletics' Khris Davis: Multiple hits in return to Oakland
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Davis entered Thursday's win over the Tigers as a pinch hitter in the fourth inning and remained in the game as the designated hitter, going 2-for-3 with an RBI ground-rule double.
Davis earned his call to the big-league club by tearing the cover off the ball at Triple-A Las Vegas, and at least for his first game back in an Athletics uniform, he wielded just as productive a bat. The veteran slugger may only see intermittent opportunities as the regular season winds down, but if he's anywhere near as locked in as he appeared during his recent minor-league stint, he could certainly make an impact.
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Athletics' Khris Davis: Makes way back to Oakland
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The Athletics selected Davis' contract from Triple-A Las Vegas ahead of Wednesday's game in Detroit.
Since submitting three consecutive 40-plus-homer campaigns with the Athletics from 2016 through 2018, Davis' productivity at the plate has nosedived, but the 33-year-old enjoyed something of a renaissance after re-signing with Oakland on a minor-league deal Aug. 4 following his release from the Rangers. Over 68 plate appearances at Las Vegas, Davis slashed .333/.382/.921 with 10 home runs and a palatable 19.1 percent strikeout rate. The Athletics will likely give him a look in September as a short-side platoon option at designated hitter, hoping that his success at Triple-A carries over to the majors.
Davis is hitting .385 (15-for-39) with two doubles, two triples, six home runs, 16 RBI, a walk and nine runs over his last nine games with Triple-A Las Vegas.
The veteran slugger's first four games with the Aviators seemed like an extension of his struggles of the last two-plus seasons, with Davis hitting .091 (1-for-11) with four strikeouts over that span. However, he's looked like vintage "Khrush" since that point, and he's struck out just six times over the 40 plate appearances during the sample, which is certainly encouraging given his career-long struggles with contact. Nevertheless, the caveat of his success coming against minor-league arms -- and in the hitter-friendly Triple-A West to boot -- does apply, and the Athletics will undoubtedly keep an eye on his progress over the coming weeks to see if he can sustain the hot bat.
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Athletics' Khris Davis: Returns to Oakland on MiLB deal
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Davis signed a minor-league contract with the Athletics on Wednesday.
In what could be his last chance to salvage his moribund MLB career, Davis will rejoin the organization with which he posted three consecutive 40-homer campaigns between 2016 and 2018. Over the two-plus seasons since, Davis has slashed .212/.291/.374 (80 wRC+) with a 27.1 percent strikeout rate in 693 plate appearances. Davis' diminishing performance at the plate and subpar defense in the corner outfield has limited his utility as a bench piece, so he may need to experiment with a swing change in order to get a look with the Athletics or another team at the big-league level. Because he hasn't played since being released by the Rangers in early June, Davis will first report to the Athletics' Arizona Complex League affiliate before presumably moving up to Triple-A Las Vegas within the next couple of weeks.
Rangers' Khris Davis: Likely set to become free agent
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The Rangers announced Sunday that Davis has been placed on unconditional release waivers.
Davis is almost a sure bet to clear waivers as no team is likely to take on any portion of the nearly $17 million he's owed for the season. Once he clears waivers, the 2018 AL home-run king will become a free agent and could draw interest from a club in search of lightning in a bottle, though most National League clubs will likely hesitate to sign Davis given his limited fielding prowess. The 33-year-old will be able to sign for the league minimum after clearing waivers
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Khris Davis: Cut loose by Texas
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The Rangers released Davis on Sunday.
After going unclaimed off waivers when Texas designated him for assignment Tuesday, Davis wasn't interested in reporting to the Rangers' Triple-A affiliate in Round Rock. As such, the 33-year-old will hit the open market in search of a better opportunity, though it's unclear if he'll have many suitors lining up for his services. Davis can't reliably play the corner outfield at this stage of his career, and he's declined dramatically as a slugger over the past three seasons. Since the start of the 2019 season, Davis has slashed .212/.291/.374 (80 wRC+) with a 27.1 percent strikeout rate over 693 plate appearances.
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Rangers' Khris Davis: Designated for assignment
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Davis (illness) was designated for assignment by the Rangers on Tuesday.
Davis produced a wRC+ of exactly 82 in each of his final two years as an Athletic, and things only got worse for him following an offseason trade to the Rangers. In 22 games, he hit just .157/.262/.333, good for a wRC+ of 67. There's unlikely to be much of a market on the waiver wire for a 33-year-old designated hitter who's been well below average for three straight seasons. The transaction should open up the DH spot for Willie Calhoun, allowing the Rangers to start more accomplished defenders in left field such as Eli White, who was recalled in a corresponding move and will fill the position Tuesday against the Giants.
Davis was scratched from the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rays due to an illness, Kennedi Landry of MLB.com reports.
Davis was initially scheduled to serve as the Rangers' designated hitter while batting fifth in the series finale, but those duties will instead fall to Nick Solak, who moves up from seventh in the lineup. Charlie Culberson will fill Solak's previous spot in the batting order while manning second base.
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Rangers' Khris Davis: Homers as pinch hitter
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Davis hit a solo home run in his lone at-bat Tuesday in a loss to Colorado.
Davis played hero in the eighth inning, coming on to pinch hit and depositing a solo game-tying homer to right field. The long ball was his first this season and accounted for his third RBI. It has been a difficult campaign overall for Davis, who missed the first part of the season with a quadriceps strain and has struggled with a .171/.280/.317 slash line. He has struck out 15 times in 41 at-bats.
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Rangers' Khris Davis: Homers in loss
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Davis went 1-for-3 with a two-run home run and a walk during Thursday's loss at Coors Field.
Davis demolished a 440-footer against Jordan Sheffield in the seventh inning. It was his second long ball of the series and his second of what's been a difficult season, partially due to suffering from a quadriceps strain. Across 20 games, the 33-year-old is batting just .182/.296/.386.
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Rangers' Khris Davis: Not in Saturday's lineup
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Davis isn't starting Saturday's game against the Mariners.
Davis will sit for the second time in the last three games after he went 0-for-2 with an RBI, a walk and a strikeout in Friday's loss. Willie Calhoun will serve as the designated hitter while Jason Martin starts in left field.
