Wade Davis, even as a KC Royals ‘legend,’ still has something to prove this spring
Take ego, perceived status and role out of the equation, and the Kansas City Royals believe in a pure “fit” between an organization and an individual.
They certainly found a couple successful fits last season in veteran relievers Greg Holland and Trevor Rosenthal.
This year, they’re hoping for similar results with right-hander Wade Davis. An iconic reliever during a high point in the franchise’s recent history, Davis served as a mainstay of the Royals’ World Series runs in 2014 and 2015.
The Royals’ dominant bullpen drove a large part of their success in back-to-back American League pennant-winning performances and a 2015 World Series championship. Davis recorded the final out of that championship, a strikeout followed by him launching his glove into the air as the team exulted.
“He’s a legend around here,” Royals manager Mike Matheny said of Davis earlier this week.
This winter, the “legend” Davis signed a minor-league contract to return to the Royals. He’s back in a Royals uniform as a non-roster invite to spring training after four seasons away from the club.
Despite a different set of teammates and coaches than he left when the club traded him to the Chicago Cubs in exchange for Jorge Soler in December 2016, the 35-year-old reiterated several times while speaking to reporters on Friday that he’s “at home” with the Royals.
“I wanted to be here,” Davis said, seated alongside Holland. “I talked to Greg about it a long time ago. This is definitely a place I wanted to be.”
Davis, who spent 2013-16 as a Royal, pitched exclusively out of the bullpen in 2014. From 2014-16, he posted 1.18 ERA with a 0.892 WHIP, 11.5 strikeouts per 9 innings and a 3.97-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 185 games. He also recorded 47 saves.
Davis earned All-Star honors in 2015 and 2016.
A free agent after his one season with Cubs, Davis signed a three-year, $52 million contract with the Colorado Rockies prior to 2018. At the time, it was the largest contract — based on a per year salary — given to a relief pitcher in MLB history.
After a stellar 2018 in which he led the National League in saves (43) and a great start to 2019, Davis’ performance dropped off.
After the first month of 2019, Davis registered an ERA of 11.02 with opponents having batted .314 and slugged .529 against him that season.
Last season after the pandemic interrupted spring training, Davis dealt with a shoulder strain that caused him to go on the injured list. He returned from the IL late in the truncated season, but the Rockies designated him for assignment in September.
Davis made just five appearances in 2020. He allowed 10 runs on nine hits (three homers) and three walks in 4 1/3 innings. He struck out three.
“I’ve obviously got a lot to prove here to try to get an opportunity here,” Davis said. “It does really feel at home, but just with a fresh face. It seems like a pretty cool atmosphere.”
Davis, who said he’s fully healthy, didn’t seem deterred by the prospect of having to essentially start over and earn a spot on this year’s club. In fact, he seemed to embrace the idea of a fresh start.
“I feel like every year, whether you’re in the minor leagues or coming up, you’re always on a different team in general,” Davis said. “You’re bringing in new guys. You’ve got different coaching staffs and different philosophies. I just feel like that’s kind of a good thing.”
Davis and Matheny spoke this winter about Matheny wanting to use pitchers in different roles depending on the match-up and scenarios.
Matheny employed that philosophy last year, and it’s very different than the set roles that characterized the bullpen Davis had been part at the end of his previous stint with the Royals.
Davis claimed to be on board with that new approach. He likened it to his first foray into the bullpen with the Royals when he pitched in different roles with the main goal of getting the ball to Holland to close games.
“If I get the opportunity to be on this team, I’m game for whatever it is,” Davis said.
Last year, Holland sat in a similar position to where Davis now sits. In other stops after Kansas City, he’d shown flashes of brilliance earlier in his career. But injury and inconsistency in more recent years as well as decreased velocity that led to questions about his ability to be effective.
Holland returned to the Royals and helped anchor a largely inexperienced bullpen last season. He pitched in multiple roles, recorded six saves, a 1.91 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and 9.8 strikeouts per 9 innings and seven walks in 28 1/3 innings.
“We were part of something special,” Holland said. “It means a lot to me, and I’m glad that Wade is back. I fully expect us to just go get outs as a bullpen collectively. I think Wade’s going to be a big part of that.”
Matheny had first-hand knowledge of Holland and Rosenthal from his days managing them with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Davis is a brand-new player to Matheny, though the message remains the same.
“We believe that you bring something special here, and what you have done certainly has worthy credit to it, but we need you to come in here and compete,” Matheny said.
Matheny will be tasked with evaluating Davis’ present-day performance and potential fit on this year’s club and separating that from the “legend.”
At the same time, Davis’ experience, presence and the example he sets for younger pitchers isn’t something that Matheny will take lightly.
The assessment on whether Davis fits onto this roster will be based on more than just how his “stuff” looks on the mound this spring.
“You take that into consideration, but then you take all those other pieces,” Matheny said. “I believe some of those other pieces are just as valuable as the stuff as you watch the stuff develop. It’s all part of the puzzle.”
Coronavirus testing
MLB and the Players Association announced that the total number of new COVID-19 positive test results from intake testing of players, staff and personnel was 13 or 0.3 percent of the 4,336 total samples. Nine of the 13 positives were players and four were staff members. Eleven clubs have had one or more positive results during intake testing.
Spring training tickets
Surprise Stadium, the spring training home ballpark of the Royals and Texas Rangers, will begin selling Cactus League tickets on Saturday for games taking place Feb. 28 through March 29. The ballpark will feature a limited seating capacity of under 2,000 fans per game. Ticketing will be done in physically distanced seating pods, and those in attendance will be required to wear face coverings. Additional fan safety information and policies can be found at surprisestadium.com.
