1 thing A’s can count on: Khris Davis in left field
The Giants have many advantages over the A’s. Superior ballpark, bigger fan base, far more revenue. Not to mention three World Series titles in the past seven years.
This season’s Giants have the hammer, too. They expect to play deep into the postseason while the A’s would be thrilled to flirt with .500.
The A’s have their share of pluses. They’ve been known to get more bang out of their buck. Their fans, while fewer, have a burning passion and undeniable loyalty. The beer is cheaper.
They also have left fielder Khris Davis, and the Giants don’t.
When manager Bob Melvin draws names on his lineup card, he can start with Davis in the cleanup spot. Davis hit 42 home runs last season, the first hitter on either side of the bay to reach 40 since Barry Bonds in 2004.
“He’s pretty cemented in the 4-hole,” Melvin said, “and we don’t have too many guys in our lineup who are cemented in spots.”
Giants manager Bruce Bochy has the luxury of seven players cemented into spots. Everywhere but left field, where Jarrett Parker will be on an Opening Day roster for the first time and presumably platoon with Chris Marrero, who was told Friday he made the team.
Parker will be the Giants’ 11th Opening Day left fielder in 11 years. Yes, they’re still trying to replace Bonds. Left field is the clearest roster advantage the A’s have over the Giants, and it’s not even close.
Now the question is whether Davis can enjoy a repeat performance. He became the first on the A’s with 100 RBIs since Frank Thomas in 2006, and he did it despite a subpar April — three homers in the first month, none at the Coliseum, and nine RBIs.
So perhaps the question shouldn’t be whether Davis can repeat his breakout year but whether he can outdo himself.
“The year he had last year was amazing, but I know he knows he could have done better,” shortstop Marcus Semien said. “That’s what’s scary about it. He had a slow start, and he still put up those numbers.” Semien paused. “Forty-two homers. Playing in a pitchers’ park. And he could have had a better year.”
Davis certainly can improve beyond the power numbers. He hit .247 with a .307 on-base percentage and 166 strikeouts, fifth most in A’s history. If those numbers improve and he hits another 40-plus homers, management would be thrilled.
“It’s a little tougher because people are expecting it,” said Davis, who was acquired from the Brewers after his 27-homer season in 2015. “They’re wondering, am I going to do it again? Anything is possible. There are endless possibilities. It’s about me staying healthy and having fun.”
Now consider the Giants. They thought about acquiring a power-hitting left fielder in the offseason but deemed it too costly and decided to stay in house. Parker, 28, has played parts of two seasons in the majors but hasn’t been consistent enough to keep a job.
The Giants want to ease him into the lineup in a platoon. Bochy said he could play Marrero, who hit eight spring training homers, in left and at first.
“I felt I was ready,” Marrero said. “I think I proved to them I can help this team win.”
Let’s go down the list of Opening Day left fielders for the Giants: Bonds in 2007, followed by Dave Roberts, Fred Lewis, Mark DeRosa, Pat Burrell, Aubrey Huff, Andres Torres, Michael Morse, Nori Aoki and Angel Pagan.
Notice a trend?
The A’s, for as much as they change year to year, are comforted that Davis will be making his second straight Opening Night start and has three more years before free agency.
“He makes everybody around him better,” Melvin said. “Some of the other guys can just be themselves and do their thing, knowing there are certain guys we’re expecting to carry a little bit more of the production load.”
The A’s also are comforted that Davis is back in the lineup after missing eight days with quadriceps tightness. He was the designated hitter Friday and is scheduled to play left in Saturday’s spring training finale.
The A’s have been conservative with Davis because there was no urgency to rush him. The mind-set changes when the A’s open their season Monday night at the Coliseum against the Angels.
Davis has no homers this spring and is batting .231 after three hitless at-bats Friday but doesn’t seem concerned.
“It’s not as consistent as I want to be,” he said as he iced his right leg, “but it’s reps and a matter of time with that.”
The A’s hope the time is now for Davis to have a big year. Again.