NEW YORK — The Yankees, seeking reinforcements after injuries, acquired first baseman J.D. Davis from the Athletics along with cash in exchange for minor league infielder Jordan Groshans on Sunday.
The Yankees recently have been hit by injuries to Anthony Rizzo (broken forearm) and Giancarlo Stanton (hamstring strain).
Davis hit .232 with four homers and five RBIs in 135 plate appearances with the A’s, who signed him to a $2.5 million contract in mid-March and designated him for assignment on Tuesday. He was awarded a $6.9 million salary as part of a nonguaranteed contract then was released by the San Francisco Giants and given $1,112,903 in termination pay.
A 31-year-old right-handed hitter, Davis has a .273 average with 119 homers and 386 RBIs in eight seasons with the Astros (2017-18), Mets (2019-22), Giants (2022-23) and A’s.
Rizzo broke his right forearm June 16 and is expected to be sidelined until August. Stanton, the Yankees’ primary designated hitter, strained his left hamstring Saturday and was placed on the injured list.
New York called up Ben Rice from the minors to fill in at first in Rizzo’s absence.
Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Sunday that they planned on using the right-handed Davis in a platoon at first base, depending on the pitching matchups. Davis, who can also play third base and can serve as designated hitter, is batting .265 this year against left-handers and .225 against right-handers.
“Hopefully, [Davis can] come here and give us a little spark,” Boone said.
Groshans, 24, hit .232 with one home run and 15 RBIs in 50 games this year with Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Double-A Somerset. He was claimed by the Yankees off waivers from the Miami Marlins on Feb. 13.
“I’m assuming that he’ll probably go to Double-A for us to play shortstop every day,” A’s manager Mark Kotsay said of Groshans. “I think as early as next week, Jack Wilson will be back with the Triple-A team. And obviously, Nick Allen’s there. So there’s some depth in the middle right now. It’s just nice to have another player that can play the middle.”
