The Red Sox have claimed outfielder Jaylin Davis off waivers from the San Francisco Giants, the club announced earlier Thursday afternoon. A corresponding move was not needed since Boston had an opening on their 40-man roster.
Davis, 27, was designated for assignment by San Francisco last week after the Giants acquired right-hander Cory Abbott from the Cubs. Boston has optioned him to Triple-A Worcester.
A former 24th-round draft choice of the Twins out of Appalachian State University in 2015, Davis was dealt to the Giants in the same trade that sent Sam Dyson to Minnesota at the 2019 trade deadline. The North Carolina native made his major-league debut for San Francisco that September and appeared in 26 big-league contests with the club from 2019 to 2021.
In that 26-game span, the right-handed hitting Davis has batted .159/.221/.270 with one double, two home runs, four RBIs, five runs scored, one stolen base, three walks, and 18 strikeouts over 68 total trips to the plate. He has also seen playing time at both corner outfield positions with 139 1/3 of his 147 1/3 career defensive innings coming in right.
After failing to make the Giants’ Opening Day roster out of spring training this year, Davis was optioned to Triple-A Sacramento, where he hit .295/.340/.500 (109 wRC+) to go along with three doubles, two homers, seven RBIs, 10 runs scored, three stolen bases, three walks, and 14 strikeouts over 10 games (47 plate appearances) with the River Cats.
Listed at 5-foot-11 and 205 pounds, Davis, who turns 28 in July, should provide the Red Sox with some intriguing outfield depth in Worcester given the fact he has plus speed and power. It also helps that he has one minor-league option year remaining.
While Boston did not need to make a corresponding move to accommodate the addition of Davis on Thursday, they will need to make room on their 40-man roster on Friday when Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford are activated from the restricted list in Baltimore.
(Picture of Jaylin Davis: Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
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