The Orioles have raised their offer to Chris Davis to possibly seven years, $168 million, per Ken Rosenthal. If you think that's crazy money, you are not wrong.
Meanwhile, Roch Kubatko of MASN is saying that the Orioles are holding strong at seven years, $150M. Buster Olney agrees with Roch, and also throws in that the Orioles offer is currently off the table. Who to believe, who to believe?
Is that bigger number coming from Davis's agent, Scott Boras, as a negotiating tactic? Is MASN's info outdated and the Orioles have moved up? I hope it's the MASN version, because the idea of giving that crazy amount of money to one player gives me heart palpitations.
I want Chris Davis to be an Oriole. I've been hoping for it since the day the season ended. But this much money makes my tummy hurt. What about another outfielder? What about a starting pitcher? What about a future that I hope includes extending Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop? How much money do the Orioles have to give away?
The rumors thus far about Davis have pretty much only talked about the Orioles. So who are they bidding against? Is there another team that would have given him more than the previously mentioned seven years, $150M?
None of us can answer those questions, it's a matter of if we want to put our faith into Dan Duquette and the Orioles, or if we do not. It's a huge commitment to give one player $24M a year, and if it ends up being a bad decision, it could really hurt this team for years.
Yes, I want Chris Davis on the team. I want to watch his sweet swing and majestic dongs for years to come. But this is an unprecedented amount of money for the Orioles, and it's pretty scary to think about the possible consequences.