I've seen a bunch of Chris Davis bashing lately and people anxious to dump him. I know he has bee a let down, but let's keep in mind how much potential this guy has. He is an absolute gold glove caliber first basemen. He hit 17 HR in only 80 games in 08 while hitting a respectable .285. I don't think he will be an Adrian Gonzalez or Joey Votto, but this guy has talent. Think of the first basemen we've had in this system and given up on. Adrian Gonzalez or Carlos Pena ring a bell? I believe Cliff Lee and Roy Halladay might have had struggles early on in their careers that required demotions to the minors as well. Be patient with this guy because if he finds it we could use him at 3B in a couple of years when we have the "Derek Jeter" talk with Michael about moving to DH.

I don't think he will be an Adrian Gonzalez or Joey Votto, but this guy has talent.

I believe it's fair to say that Davis has talent, and even enough talent to be a viable ML first baseman.

However, I want to point something out -- what Davis did in 2008 may no longer be applicable. My discussions with Jason Parks and others have me convinced that he no longer has 80-grade power; in other words, the tool has deteriorated to some extent. There may be more there that isn't the same as it was when he was an up-and-coming monster. I'd have to look into it.

I can't recall a single OFP report from Jason where the future grade of a tool/attribute was lower than the present grade, and this makes sense because, well, you don't project regression in TALENT in prospects or young major leaguers. (This is an important distinction to make; it's perfectly rational to project regression in production if a player performs much better than expected at his level, but you don't expect talent to degrade in young players.) Unfortunately, regression in talent does happen, and I fear that it may somehow be detrimental where Davis is concerned going forward.

I think Davis is taking steps to getting back to his 08 form. In September when he was called back up, his batting stance and his swing were similar to what they were when he first got to the bigs. He stood more upright and had more of a load before the swing. I don't think it's a coincidence that he used this approach when he hit his only homer of the season.

Hey Joey. You seem like the kind of fella who could do this. What about a mashup of Davis swings over the last few years. Know of anywhere?

All I know, from previous discussions, is he is NOT a loser.

Davis and Borbon are the two young guys on this team that I'm not ready to give up on and just throw in on a trade. Now if you want to include Borbon on a deal for Upton or Davis on a deal for (either Cubs catcher) or someone else major-league ready, I'm ok with it, as I do think CD might benefit from playing in front of fans who don't carry with them the expectation of a strikeout or HR for his every AB.

I'd like to see him continue to learn 3B and just try and make contact with the ball -- almost the approach Kinsler took this last year. I think he still has the power to drive it over the fence, but he looks fooled too often at the plate and chases bad pitches. I wonder who the new hitting coach will be and what sort of impact he can have on CD...

1) I'm sold on Mitch Moreland, who screams Sean Casey/Mark Grace to me at the plate, and doesn't look half-bad at all in the field for a guy who was a RF a year or so ago.

2) There is no such thing as a defense-first 1B. Great defenders, yes. That's a plus. But it's a hitter's position. 1B is the DH of the National League- it's where you put a bat you need to find a spot for, not a place for a marginal bat with plus defense.

All told, I don't really see a place in the near-term future for Davis. He strikes me as a classic "needs a change of scenery" kind of guy. I'm not convinvced that Salty won't eventually be a good ML two-way Catcher. But the guy needed out of Texas badly. Davis is the same way. It's not "giving up" to ship him off for a worthwhile piece, and the 2 Catchers from the Cubs strike me as really reasonable options to help this team out in the near-term.

I like Mitch at 1st as well, I'm just saying don't give up on him yet. If we move him let's at least get a player that can help. We gave up Chris Young and Adrian Gonzales for Adam Eaton and Akinori Otsuka. Had JD not completely screwed the Braves, we might define his tenure more by that terrible move. I'm not knocking JD because he is obviously a great young GM, I would just hate to see us give away another productive player because he struggled early.

I think CD could end up much like Carlos Pena (another Ranger cast off.) Great D at first, lots of pop, low average and lots of strikeouts.

I potentially like the Pena comp. But I'd trade "might be Pena" for a useful, young Catcher with some upside.

Totally agree. Just don't want another Adam Eaton.

I differ from Joey and some others in that I don't view players *purely* analytically with advanced metrics.
I would prefer that we had a more reliable solution to 1B long term and I haven't completely bought into Moreland, but I think between Moreland and Davis, surely one of them will end up being good enough to fill the position for a lot of good team years here. Davis gives me much more confidence defensively.

What I do very much like about Davis is the intangibles. The last two seasons on my trips to Surprise, Davis really caught my attention as being a genuinely good guy, likeable, and his teamates like him, he also plays very hard, you can never question his effort level. The *only* thing wrong with Davis is his bat. If you believe he'll never hit well enough, then he has to go. If you believe he will have a much better 2011, then he is a player above replacement level surely.

Tre - Also agree. CD is great to the fans at spring training, his teammates love him, and he can play. Just gotta stop chasing trash in the dirt.