The NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Group are re-signing infielder Matt Davidson to a $1.5MM cope with a membership possibility for 2026 valued at $1.7MM (h/t Jeeho Yoo of Yonhap Information).
Davidson, 34, first signed with the Dinos again in January. As soon as a first-round decide within the 2009 draft by the Diamondbacks and a daily on top-100 prospect lists within the early 2010s, Davidson has appeared in elements of six huge league seasons however has by no means fairly been profitable in establishing himself within the majors. He performed simply 31 video games complete on the huge league stage for Arizona. Whereas he hit a good .237/.333/.434 in that point, he was shipped to Chicago within the deal that introduced Addison Reed to the Diamondbacks the next offseason.
After arriving in Chicago, Davidson was relegated to the minor leagues within the first few years of his time with the group, the place he hit fairly effectively; the slugger is a profession .253/.335/.479 hitter on the Triple-A stage and demonstrated 20-homer energy for the membership’s Triple-A affiliate in Charlotte. He acquired semi-regular enjoying time with the White Sox from 2017 to 2018 and hit a good .224/.291/.435 with 46 dwelling runs throughout that point, although he additionally struck out at an untenable 35.1% clip. For the reason that finish of the 2018 season, Davidson has appeared in simply 33 video games on the huge league stage. Most lately, he hit .167/.167/.292 in an eight-game stint with the Athletics in 2022.
2023 noticed Davidson head abroad to strive his hand at enjoying baseball in Asia, although he initially didn’t head to the KBO. First, he went to Japan to play for Nippon Skilled Baseball’s Hiroshima Carp. He hit a middling .224/.288/.452 total in 117 video games for the Carp. Whereas he slugged 21 homers, his excessive strikeout charges and lackluster on-base share led the membership to half methods with him. That led him to the Dinos, and his first season in Korea might’ve hardly gone higher. Whereas serving as his membership’s main first baseman, Davidson slashed a wonderful .306/.370/.633 in 131 video games. He slugged a KBO-leading 46 homers, and his 1.003 OPS ranked third within the league.
That dominant efficiency clearly acquired the Dinos’ consideration, they usually had been fast to lock him up for the following two seasons after his energy helped to maintain the workforce considerably aggressive throughout a disappointing 61-81 season. Whereas Davidson’s deal assured him simply $700K final winter, this yr he’s been assured greater than double that determine and will earn greater than $3MM complete over the lifetime of the contract if the choice for subsequent yr is picked up. Given Davidson’s age, it’s unclear whether or not making an attempt a comeback within the majors may very well be within the playing cards for him when his contract with the Dinos ends, although if he continues hitting as he did final yr he might observe within the footsteps of Eric Thames and look to revive his stateside profession after years of posting otherworldly numbers in KBO play.
