KNBR’s baseball guru Marty Lurie joined Larry Krueger on the Krueg Show podcast Friday afternoon.
As Giants beat writer Henry Schulman also said Friday, Lurie feels that going into the 2017 with just Jarrett Parker and Mac Williamson as the options in left field is a high risk proposition, seeing as both are unproven commodities at the Major League level.
Mark Reynolds is a name that has been thrown around as a possible reinforcement hitter to add to the roster, but Lurie thinks a former Giants outfielder and recent World Series standout would be the ideal fit.
“I’d rather have Rajai Davis,” Lurie said. “I’d rather go that way. Impact player. He can play left field. He can lead off if you’re having trouble with Span and you can put him in he can steal a bag. I still think he impacts the game. I’d rather have him than Mark Reynolds.”
Davis played with the Giants in 2007 and the first half of the 2008 season before being traded to the Oakland A’s. Davis, 36, put up .249/.306/.388 last season with the Indians and lead the league with 43 stolen bases. Davis also hit a game tying solo home run in the bottom of the 8th inning in Game 7 of the World Series.
Davis is an unrestricted free agent who earned $5.25 million last season, with Spotrac projecting his 2017 market value at $6 million per year. The Giants are currently over the $195 million luxury tax in team payroll for the third consecutive season, meaning they will have to pay a 50 percent tax on any additional money spent this offseason.
Listen to the full podcast below.