Baltimore Orioles: Chris Davis continues to be financial albatross

The Baltimore Orioles still find themselves in the midst of their rebuild. Jose Iglesias had been shipped out earlier in the offseason, and with the impending departure of Alex Cobb, the Orioles have been able to rid themselves of a decent amount of salary.

At this point, only one player on the roster is making more than $4.75 million per season. That player? Chris Davis, who may have the most untradeable contract in the majors.

Baltimore Orioles still contending with Chris Davis albatross

It is easy to say that Davis has not been the player Baltimore was hoping for when he was signed to his seven year, $161 million contract before the 2016 season. It was easy to understand the Orioles rationale at the time; Davis had just led the league with 47 homers and posted a 147 OPS+. At 29 years old, the expectation was that Davis would continue to be a feared slugger for years to come.

While he was reasonably solid in the first two years of the contract, he did not live up to that salary. Then the wheels came off completely, as he became completely lost at the plate. Davis reached his nadir in 2020, posting a horrendous .115/.164/.173 batting line in his 55 plate appearances. That batting line led to a Rafael Belliard-esque -7 OPS+ for the year.

It is easy to root for Davis to break out of his multi-year slump. He has not shied away from questions during that time, even during his record setting hitless streak. No matter how much he may be struggling, he is continuing to work to return to the form that earned him that contract.

But that time is seemingly never going to come. Instead, the Orioles have what may be the worst contract in the game today, a true albatross that is hampering their efforts to rebuild the roster. And it is an obstacle that the Orioles will need to deal with until the end of the 2022 season.

The Baltimore Orioles have been able to pare down their payroll as they rebuild with just one player earning more than $4.75 million this season. The problem is that Chris Davis has the worst contract in baseball.