Outfielder Jaylin Davis, designated for assignment by the Red Sox last week, went unclaimed on waivers and has been assigned outright to Triple-A Worcester, per MassLive.com’s Chris Cotillo (Twitter link). He’ll remain with the organization but no longer occupy a spot on the 40-man roster.
Davis, 27, was claimed off waivers out of the Giants organization late last month. He hadn’t been outrighted previously in his career and doesn’t have three years of big league service time, so he didn’t have the option to reject the assignment in favor of free agency.
Originally a 24th-round pick of the Twins back in 2015, Davis was traded from Minnesota to San Francisco in exchange for Sam Dyson at the 2019 trade deadline. Despite enormous Triple-A production with the Twins and Giants in ’19 — .306/.397/.590 with 35 home runs in 541 plate appearances — Davis has never managed to carry things over to the big leagues. He hit just .159/.221/.270 in parts of three seasons with the Giants (68 plate appearances) and was 2-for-4 in his pair of games with the Sox prior to his DFA.
Davis has continued to post solid power numbers in Triple-A, but he’s never replicated that 2019 production — even in the minors. He hit .230/.317/.503 with the Giants’ top affiliate last year and is out to a .257/.282/.446 start between the Triple-A clubs of the Red Sox and Giants so far in 2022. Strikeouts have become an increasing issue for Davis over the years, as evidenced by last year’s 31.7% punchout rate and this year’s mark of 32.1% in 78 plate appearances.