He was traded while getting a haircut — and then impressed in his first Marlins start
Monday started as a laid back off day for Jonathan “JD” Davis. The Toledo Mud Hens, the Triple A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers, had just returned from a 12-hour bus ride after the end of a week-long series in Omaha. Davis, 31, played nine holes of golf with his roommate and then went to the barber shop for a haircut.
And then, midway through the haircut, his phone rang. On the other line was Scott Harris, the Tigers’ president of baseball operations.
“I’ve got some bittersweet news,” Davis remembers Harris telling him. “We’re gonna trade you to Miami.”
The deal was a one-for-one swap. Miami acquired Davis in exchange for minor-league outfielder prospect Brady Allen.
One day later, the Marlins added Davis to their active roster. And one day after that, Davis was in the starting lineup for the first time with the Marlins on Wednesday, playing center field and batting ninth.
All he did was get three hits, including an opposite-field home run, as one of the many contributors to the Marlins’ 10-2 blowout win over the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field to snap a three-game losing streak.
“That felt great, honestly,” Davis said.
Understandably so, considering Davis’ career to this point.
He was a 15th-round pick in the 2013 MLB Draft by the Toronto Blue Jays out of Central Arkansas and had played in 171 MLB games over parts of five seasons for three teams (122 with the Blue Jays from 2018-2021; 12 with the New York Yankees in 2021; 37 with the Milwaukee Brewers in 2022) in addition to 692 minor-league games.
His stints in the big leagues, at least offensively, were lackluster. He had a career .185 batting average and .536 on-base-plus-slugging percentage over 350 plate appearances.
The Marlins took a low-risk chance when they acquired Davis on Monday, hoping he could serve as a stopgap defensively in center field while Jazz Chisholm Jr. recovers from turf toe.
“With Jazz out, we’re kind of handcuffed in center field,” Marlins manager Skip Schumaker said. “[Garrett] Hampson has done a really good job of bouncing around and playing a lot of center field, but Jonathan’s done it his whole career. Having some stability out there defensively can only help us.”
Especially if he can produce.
The night started out shaky, with Davis misplaying a Charlie Blackmon line drive in the first inning that resulted in a leadoff triple and with Davis striking out in his first at-bat in the third inning.
He settled in from there, making every play in the outfield and stepping up at the plate. Wednesday was the first three-hit game of his MLB career. The home run was just his fifth in the big leagues. He swung at a first-pitch, middle-middle fastball from Rockies reliever Peter Lambert and sent it a projected 387 feet to right field.
He also hit singles in the fifth and eighth innings.
“The biggest challenge,” Davis said, “is just being myself and not trying to do too much but as the same time doing what you’ve been doing. That’s a challenge for everybody making that jump from the minor leagues to the big leagues with the bright lights and wanting to move forward. At the end of the day, it’s the same game. Don’t make it bigger than it is.”
Schumaker called Davis a “spark plug.”
“Oppo home run. Some good plays,” Schumaker said. “I thought he had a really good game.”
All of this — the trade, the return to the big leagues, the big day at the plate — came at a time when Davis was nearing a juncture in his season. He had an opt-out in his contract for June 1 if he wasn’t added to the Tigers’ big-league roster. With the deadline about a week away, Davis was already mentally preparing for his next steps.
And then came the phone call that he was going to the Marlins.
And then on Wednesday, he made the most of his first impression.
“It’s exciting where this game takes you,” Davis said. “Never thought I would be [playing for] Miami, but that’s where I’m at right now.”
.JPG)