Players You Forgot the Pittsburgh Pirates Drafted: Part 4

Outfielder Rajai Davis

We can’t end off this list on such a depressing note, so let’s bring up something much happier.

Rajai Davis had a long 14 year career as one of the fastest base runners in baseball, even as he approached 40-years-old. But nobody probably would have thought that when he was drafted by the Pirates in the 38th round of the 2001 draft. Though he did play with the Pittsburgh Pirates, you probably didn’t know he was selected by the team as he only was with the Bucs for 44 games, and you also probably didn’t know he was drafted as a second baseman.

The Pirates made Davis’ primary position the outfield once he reached pro ball. The speedy prospect steadily climbed throughout the Pirates’ minor league system. Although he was never consistently bad, he was never some world-beating prospect. One thing was for sure though. He could steal bases. He stole 40 or more bases each of three seasons between 2003 to 2005.

By 2006, Davis had reached the Major Leagues with the Pittsburgh Pirates, but only appeared in 20 games. He also only received 17 plate appearances, and collected two hits, and one double. The next year, Davis received 57 plate appearances with the Bucs, and hit for a solid .271/.357/.354 line, but was traded to the San Francisco Giants during the 2007 trade deadline for former St. Louis Cardinals’ ace Matt Morris.

This was far from the last team Davis would play for. He was selected off waivers by the Oakland A’s just a year later, where he spent 2009 and 2010. Then during the 2010-2011 off season, he was sent to the Toronto Blue Jays for Danny Farquar and Trystan Magunson. This would be Davis’ home for the next three years until he reached free agency in the 2013-2014 off season. He then signed on with the Detroit Tigers where he had two of the best offensive seasons of his career, batting .272/.314/.418 with a 102 wRC+ and 54 stolen bases.

But the 2016 season is probably what most fans remember about Davis. He wasn’t particularly good offensively in the regular season, posting a .249/.303/.388 line, and 80 OPS+/83 wRC+ through 495 plate appearances. Nor was he super good defensively (-5 DRS, .7 UZR, -1.1 range runs above average). But it was his heroics in Game 7 of the World Series against the Cubs which will forever immortalize him in Cleveland Indians’ history. With two outs against the ever-so imposing Aroldis Chapman, and down by two, Davis slammed a two run home run to tie the game for the Indians. Though they would go on to lose the game, his home run is one of the most exciting moments in recent baseball history.

After 2016, he returned to Oakland, and then bounced around with the Red Sox, Mets, and the Indians. While he hasn’t officially retired yet, Davis didn’t sign on with a team for the 2020 season. However, he still has the wheels to be a serious threat on the base paths. Despite being 38-years-old in 2019, he still registered a 29.1 feet/second sprint speed, or the 50th highest mark in baseball. Not a bad career for a 38th round pick.