Red Sox claim Jaylin Davis off waivers from the Giants

The Red Sox have some depth issues with their position players at the moment, and they are not getting much beyond the core five or six players in their lineup. They’ll need to shuffle through some options as this season goes on, and they’ve added a new name to the mix via waivers to provide some more outfield depth. The team announced on Thursday that they have claimed outfield Jaylin Davis off waivers from the Giants. They 27-year-old has been optioned down to Triple-A Worcester.

Davis was a 24th round selection by the Twins back in 2015, and is in the midst of his age-27 season. A right-handed hitter, he made his major-league debut in 2019 and has had small cups of coffee in each of the three previous seasons. Overall, Davis has 68 plate appearances in the majors, hitting .159/.221/.270 for a 33 wRC+. So far this season he has been playing at Triple-A, hitting .295/.340/.500 over 47 plate appearances. Davis, who has played mostly right field in recent years, has intriguing power potential but has had some trouble making contact. He’s not likely to be a major part of the plan this season, but it’s always good to have that depth.

For the time being, the Red Sox don’t have to make any roster moves as their 40-man was sitting with 39 players prior to this move. That’ll change tomorrow, though, when Tanner Houck and Kutter Crawford need to be added back to the roster. John Schreiber will likely be taken off the roster for one of those spots, but now another move will need to be made to make room for the other. My guess is that Travis Shaw will be designated for assignment, and the team rolls with a three-man bench for the weekend, but there are other options they can entertain as well.