The San Diego Padres’ long-term extension with Wil Myers is a bargain compared to the deal the Baltimore Orioles gave to Chris Davis last offseason.
The San Diego Padres recently signed first baseman Wil Myers to the largest contract in Padres history. It was a six-year deal worth $83 million. Padres fans should be excited because this deal was an absolute steal. Compared to contracts given out to similar first basemen, the ROI on the Myers deal may top them all.
Let’s backtrack to almost one year ago. The Baltimore Orioles also gave out the largest contract in team history to their first baseman Chris Davis. The deal was for seven years at a staggering $161 million. That number is much higher compared to Myers’, but that was about the only thing Davis outperformed Myers in during the 2016 season.
When you begin to dive into the 2016 metrics, you will begin to see the picture that is being painted.
| Player | Avg | HR | RBI | Runs | Hits | Steals | OPS | SLG | OBP |
| Myers | .256 | 28 | 94 | 99 | 155 | 28 | .797 | .461 | .336 |
| Davis | .221 | 38 | 84 | 99 | 125 | 1 | .792 | .459 | .332 |
Some other things to consider are that Myers struck out 160 times compared to 219 times by Davis. Myers also plays in Petco Park, which is more challenging for hitters than the friendly confines of Camden Yards that Davis has enjoyed.
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Another argument for Chris Davis that likes to be made is his defensive prowess. Davis is a very solid defender but this is another area that Myers outperformed him. As it turns out, Myers had a higher fielding percentage than Davis with a league-best .998 compared to .993. He also only committed three errors during the entire 2016 season while Davis committed an AL-high 10.
The age of these players is also something to take into consideration. Wil Myers received his six-year contract at 26 years old. Chris Davis was 29 years old when the Orioles signed him to the seven-year deal. There is a very real chance that the Padres could see 30/30 type production throughout the entire length of the Myers contract. It’s also worth noting that Myers and Davis have also appeared in the same amount of All Star Games. Each has appeared in just one.
During the first year of the Davis contract, the Orioles saw an immediate decline in production. Davis led the league in strikeouts, committed the most errors of his career, had the lowest batting average of any first baseman in the league and got dropped to the six-hole in the batting order. All of this while being surrounded by guys like Manny Machado, Mark Trumbo and Adam Jones in the lineup. Myers does not have that luxury as he is surrounded by guys that most fans have never even heard of.
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The Wil Myers deal could go down as the best move by any team this offseason. The Orioles and Padres both felt that these players were worth record-breaking contracts. The Orioles may be shaking their heads over their decision while the Padres are enjoying better production at half the cost.