Jun 1, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; Texas Rangers pinch hitter Khris Davis (4) watches his ball on a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field. — Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

With Eyes On Future, Rangers Designate Khris Davis For Assignment

The Texas Rangers cut ties with Khris Davis on Tuesday, hoping their younger players will respond.

Author:
Chris Halicke
Jun 8, 2021 6:58 PM EDT

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ARLINGTON, Texas — The Texas Rangers have cut ties with veteran slugger Khris Davis, designating him for assignment. Taking his place on the active roster is Eli White, who was recalled from Triple-A Round Rock on Tuesday.

The move leaves a vacancy on the club's 40-man roster.

Rangers general manager Chris Young announced the move prior to Tuesday night's game against the San Francisco Giants — a decision that was made with all focus on the future.

"Given where we are, this year is about finding out about our young group of players," Young said. "I think this is going to create more opportunity to find out about guys like Eli White, Jason Martin, Andy Ibáñez, and potentially others who have performed well at Triple-A."

Davis only played 22 games with the Rangers after a quad injury in spring training forced him to miss the first month of the season. Davis has slashed .157/.262/.333 with 2 home runs and five RBI since joining the team. But the decision to move on from Davis did not revolve around his underwhelming numbers.

"It's really less to do with Khris Davis and his performance and more about where we are as a team and what this year is about for us at this point," Young explained. "We're excited for our future. We're excited to get a look at these guys and how they seize the opportunity."

Despite being with the team for a short amount of time, Davis had an impact in the clubhouse as a leader. Manager Chris Woodward praised his presence during spring training, and it was echoed again on Tuesday by his teammates, including one other veteran leader in the clubhouse.

"It puts a little bit more pressure on some of the other veteran position players," said Rangers pitcher Kyle Gibson. "KD was everything as advertised. He was a great guy in the clubhouse, a great guy for the young guys to talk to, and a good leader to have on a team who had been through some struggles and then had been on a team that turned it all around. He'll definitely be missed in the clubhouse for sure."

Davis was acquired in a February 6 trade with the Oakland Athletics involving longtime Rangers shortstop Elvis Andrus. The club has seven days to trade, release, or outright Davis to the minor leagues. Davis has enough service time to refuse an outright to the minor leagues.

The Rangers are on the hook for Davis' $16.75 million salary, unless they are able to pull off a trade in the coming days like they did after designating Rougned Odor for assignment prior to the season. According to Chris Young, the Rangers aren't closing any doors, but don't anticipate anything to materialize on the trade front.