It’s that day again: Orioles fans haunted by the Chris Davis contract

Across Major League Baseball, July 1 is known as Bobby Bonilla Day.

The day when the New York Mets send just under $1.2MM to Bonilla as part of the agreement the two sides had when New York approached the former Baltimore Orioles’ outfielder in 2000 about buying out the remaining $5.9MM of his deal.

Strapped for cash, the Mets ultimately agreed to the framework of the deferred payments that started in 2011 and won’t cease until 2035.

For the Orioles, Bobby Bonilla Day is a day when they are reminded of one of their brutal contracts.

While Bonilla is receiving just over $1.9MM from the Mets today, former Orioles’ free-agent bust Chris Davis is receiving a $9.16MM payment as part of the 2016 contract he signed with Baltimore.

The deal included two deferral agreements, resulting in Davis making $31.5MM from the Orioles between now and 2037.

Orioles fans dread this day every year thanks to Chris Davis

There is some form of painful irony that, during a season where disappointment has been defined by their lack of spending this past offseason, the Orioles are sending nearly $10MM to one of their biggest free-agent disasters.

Cashing in on a 2015 season where he hit 47 home runs for the Orioles, Davis inked a seven-year contract worth $161MM to remain in Baltimore.

Davis put up respectable power numbers in 2016 and 2017, hitting a total of 64 home runs, but his offensive production quickly diminished after that.

As velocity was rising among Major League pitchers, Davis was struggling to make contact.

Striking out 219 times during the 2016 season, Davis routinely approached the 200-strikeout mark in each season after that.

Davis only struck out 139 times in 2019, but he was limited to 352 plate appearances.

With the strikeouts rising, Davis’ power all but diminished, hitting a total of 28 home runs between 2018 and 2020. 2020 was Davis’ final season in the Majors, hitting under .125 with 0 home runs in 55 plate appearances with the Orioles.

Closing the loop between Bonilla, Davis, and the Orioles, Baltimore fans may not be aware that the Orioles are also sending a deferred payment to Bonilla.

The Orioles are sending $500,000 to Bonilla as part of a 1995 trade with the Mets. The last payment the Orioles will be making to Bonilla will be in 2028.