To A’s, Khris Davis is a hit just as he is

Baseball teams don’t always love players like the A’s love Khris Davis.

Davis will be Oakland’s principal designated hitter now that Ryon Healy has been dealt to Seattle, meaning Davis can focus on improving certain facets of his offensive game.

Maybe increase his on-base percentage, maybe cut down on his strikeouts. Quite the contrary. “I want Khris to do exactly what he’s been doing,” general manager David Forst said. “Khris is a very good offensive player. I’m not looking for him to change.”

Forst’s statement reaffirmed how much the team values Davis for what he is, not what he can be. In his two years as the A’s left fielder, he collected 85 homers and 212 RBIs, making it easier for management to accept the 361 strikeouts and .322 on-base percentage.

Yes, Davis’ OBP improved 29 points from 2016 to 2017, but he also struck out 29 more times. More significant were his 42 and 43 homers — the second player in franchise history with back-to-back 40s — and 102 and 110 RBIs.

At different points in the offseason, Forst and his boss Billy Beane have heaped high praise on Davis, saying his presence takes heat off Matt Chapman, Matt Olson and other young hitters. During one of his pro-Davis moments, Forst laughed and said, “Everything I just said will come back at me at the arbitration hearing.”

Arbitration hearings have been rare for the A’s since Beane took over baseball operations in 1997 because they’ve been able to mostly settle on one-year contracts. But in February, Davis was the first to beat the A’s in a hearing during Beane’s reign and made $5 million.

Davis will make a bunch more next year, but the usually frugal A’s seem cool with it and aren’t ruling out a multiyear contract for their cleanup hitter.

This week, Davis told Joe Stiglich of NBC Sports California that he’ll accept any role management gives him, but, “I don’t want to label myself as a DH . ... I won’t settle for it. It’s not my goal to be a designated hitter.”

It’s a story line worth following, but even with a role change, the A’s hope Davis won’t change once he walks to the plate.