Khris Davis DFA'd by Rangers, who want look at young players

ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Khris Davis was designated for assignment Tuesday by the slumping Texas Rangers, a move more about the young team's standing than the struggles of the veteran slugger.

Davis missed the first 34 games of the season because of a left quad strain, then hit .157 with two home runs and five RBIs in his 22 games. Texas got the 33-year-old Davis, who has a $16.75 million salary this season, when longtime starting shortstop Elvis Andrus was traded to Oakland in February.

The Rangers recalled infielder/outfielder Eli White from Triple-A Round Rock. They have seven days to trade, release, or outright Davis to the minor leagues.

General manager Chris Young and manager Chris Woodward both said the team needs to find out about its young players, and there will now be more opportunities to do that.

“It's less about Khris Davis' performance and more about the club in general, the state of our group and where we are and what aligns with our goals for this year,” Young said. “This was really, really hard in a lot of ways because we love having him around and the influence that he’s had on our group. But unfortunately, the performance has been probably a little less than we expected, and certainly we need to take a look at our younger guys.”

The Rangers had lost 11 of 12 games and were last in the AL West going into Tuesday night's home game against NL-best San Francisco, in which White was starting in left field and Willie Calhoun was the designated hitter. Davis started 13 games, 11 as DH and two in left field, while Calhoun made 23 of his previous 40 starts in left.

White made the Rangers' opening day roster, but hit .127 over 22 games and was in a 1-for-30 slump before being optioned to Round Rock on May 8, when the Rangers activated Davis for the first...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Khris-Davis-DFA-d-by-Rangers-who-want-look-at-16234104.php