Khris Davis “close” to making his Texas Rangers debut

Acquired in a five player trade earlier this past offseason (a trade which saw Elvis Andrus and Aramis Garcia sent to Oakland), veteran slugger Khris Davis has yet to make his official Texas Rangers debut.

The longtime Oakland Athletic was sidelined with a strained left quad during Spring Training, however according to MLB.com’s Kennedi Landry, he’s expected to make his return to action as soon as this weekend:

"Triple-A Round Rock was set to begin its season Thursday night against Oklahoma City with Rangers designated hitter Khris Davis in the lineup to start his rehab assignment. He isn’t expected to be there for too long.Woodward said Davis is likely to be recalled during the weekend series against Seattle. Davis has been sidelined since mid-March with a left quad strain after running the bases in a Spring Training game.More from Nolan Writin'3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan ReynoldsDid Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?Where do Texas Rangers prospects Jack Leiter and Kumar Rocker stand after the DeGrom signing?Martin Perez accepting the qualifying offer looking like solid deal for the Rangers4 outfielders the Texas Rangers can still pursue this winter“[He] definitely would probably be there for the Sunday game when we’re facing [Justus] Sheffield,” Woodward said. “He will most likely be in the lineup for sure that day. We want to get him out there probably Friday or Saturday, whatever would make the most sense.”"

Khris Davis is nearing his official Texas Rangers debut.

While the Rangers have in all honesty been faring just fine without the veteran’s services this season, the addition of Davis to the lineup should only help boost the team’s overall offensive firepower. Davis hit a combined total of 156 home runs between 2016 and 2019, establishing himself as one of the premier sluggers in Major League Baseball.

2020 was a noticeable down year for Davis, as he hit just two homers in 30 games for the A’s, but the general thought process is that he should be able to bounce back after a full offseason of rest and rehab.

While Davis can definitely play some left field when asked to, he was primarily reserved to a DH role during his past three seasons with Oakland. Taking into account his age (33), my guess is the Texas Rangers will keep him at the designated hitter position as well.