SARASOTA, Fla. -- First baseman Chris Davis arrived at spring training as the leading candidate to start at first base this season and something else that will help him relax -- a little job security. There are no guarantees – especially with the O's also auditioning veteran first baseman Nick Johnson – but Davis is happy just to be considered an all-but-certain member of the 25-man Opening Day roster.
"For me it feels like the first time in a couple years that I'm going to actually be given a shot to play every day in the big leagues,'' he said. "The last couple of springs I knew I was going to have to come in and compete just for a chance to break with the team. It feels good to come in here be ready to play but there's not a lot of pressure to go out there and win a spot today. There's a little less weight on my shoulders this year."
Davis said he was not surprised that manager Buck Showalter decided during the offseason to turn third base back over to Mark Reynolds.
“I knew it was up in the air,’’ he said. “I talked to buck at the end of the season about maybe going first to third, back and forth. And to have the ability to do that I think gives a lot of flexibility with the lineup. But he texted me somewhere in the middle of the offseason and basically told me that he wanted me at first and he wanted mark at third.”