Davis 3rd Oakland player to win DH honor
Khris Davis of the A’s was the best designated hitter of 2018. So say the writers, broadcasters and club publicrelations officials whose votes earned Davis the 2018 Edgar Martinez Outstanding DH Award.
Davis bested J.D. Martinez, a bit of a surprise after Martinez helped the Red Sox win the World Series.
Davis led the majors with 48 homers, his career high. His 123 RBIs ranked second to Martinez’s 130.
Davis becomes the third A’s hitter to win the award after Dave Kingman in 1984 and Dave Parker in 1989. Davis has hit 133 homers in his three seasons with Oakland, which acquired him in a trade with the Brewers in February 2016.
Major League Baseball has presented the award since the DH was established in 1973. Orlando Cepeda was the first winner, when he played for Boston.
Also Tuesday, the A’s made a minor trade and several roster moves at the deadline to protect prospects from next month’s Rule 5 draft.
Oakland acquired 25-yearold right-hander Tanner Anderson, who made his bigleague debut for the Pirates in 2018 after recording a 3.24 ERA in 120 minor-league games, for a player to be named or cash. Like general manager David Forst, Anderson attended Harvard.
The A’s protected four other players by adding them to the 40-man roster, most notably right-hander James Kaprielian, the centerpiece of the 2017 deal that sent Sonny Gray to the Yankees. Kaprielian has not pitched since 2016 after Tommy John surgery.
Oakland also protected outfielders Luis Barrera and Skye Bolt, and right-hander Grant Holmes. The A’s did not protect shortstop Richie Martin, their first-round draft pick in 2015, who has not developed as quickly as hoped after early injuries.
Martin did hit .300 with an .807 OPS during his second stint at Double-A Midland, Texas, in 2018.