MLB Roundup 1/13: Rays considering their own two-way player

Rays considering Matt Davidson as two-way player

That this is the top story of the day speaks way more to how inactive things were on Saturday than anything else, but this is at least a potentially fun piece of news. Ken Rosenthal reported Saturday night that the Rays were considering signing infielder Matt Davidson. Generally, this wouldn’t be huge news as Davidson just had a career-year at age 27 in which he was essentially a league-average hitter. He’s been able to carve out something around an everyday role for the White Sox for the last couple of years, but on a contender he’s better suited for a part-time job. The Rays have a different idea. They would potentially use him as a bench bat, but also as a reliever. Rosenthal indicates they view Davidson as a two-way player. As fun as this would be, though, it’s probably far-fetched. Davidson has pitched three games in his career — all in 2018 — with three strikeouts and two walks. He hasn’t been developed as a pitcher for his entire professional career. Asking him to take on a real role against the best hitters in the world seems....optimistic. If you’re looking for a two-way player in the AL East, Rays prospect Brendan McKay is the guy to watch.

Phillies think they’ll sign one of the big two free agents

The Phillies came into the offseason as the team appearing most likely to spend crazy amounts of money for the top talent available. They have made some solid moves this winter, but with the top two players in Bryce Harper and Manny Machado still out there, their offseason still doesn’t seem done. They had a meeting with Harper on Saturday, and while a deal wasn’t struck they are reportedly feeling good about their chances to sign one of those guys. It would be great for the Red Sox for these guys to head to the National League as the American League is already loaded with talent. Hopefully something will happen on these fronts soon.