BALTIMORE -- Rounding the bases Sunday afternoon,
The circumstances though, of course, are different. Davis was 29 then, set to test the market having secured his second career home run title. He was one of baseball’s premier power hitters. Now he’s objectively among its worst, having hit .198/.293/.383 in four seasons since signing a seven-year, $161 million contract in January of 2016 to return to Baltimore.\n\nDavis hit an all-time single-season low .168 in 2018, and is hitting just .176 with a .583 OPS in ‘19. Along the way, Davis endured a historic hitless streak, was involved in a dugout altercation with his manager and faded into a little-used reserve role by September.\n\nMeanwhile, the Orioles have Trey Mancini and several other bat-first corner types on their roster, and are set to promote another in Ryan Mountcastle, their [No. 4 prospect](http://m.mlb.com/prospects/2019?list=bal) per MLB Pipeline, in 2020.
“It’s a really frustrating situation, and it’s one of the many things that we stepped into and inherited and are working on,” executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias said before Sunday’s game. “He’s got a lot left on his contract. That’s the reality. And I don’t take that lightly, so we’re going to keep working with him.”\n\nAsked if he expects Davis on the roster come Spring Training, Elias said simply: “Yes.”
\n\nDidn't even flinch. \uD83D\uDCA7 pic.twitter.com/2leVIwFUxv
— Orioles on MASN (@masnOrioles) September 22, 2019
It was with that as a backdrop that Brandon Hyde made a point to start Davis and