J.D. Davis’ trip to the movie theater to watch “Dune: Part Two” ended with finding out that his future with the Giants has become anything but certain.
The third baseman, who spent three-plus seasons with the Mets before getting dealt to San Francisco in 2022, said he didn’t receive notice from the Giants’ front office before they inked a three-year, $54 million deal with Matt Chapman — also a third baseman — on Friday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
So at this point, Davis said he expects to either play third base with Chapman at shortstop, get traded or become a backup for 2024, the outlet reported.
“I don’t know what the game plan is,” according to the Chronicle. “And I don’t want to put my foot in my mouth.”
While Davis might’ve been out of the loop for the final stages of the transaction, it wasn’t exactly an unexpected route for the Giants to take — and he’s familiar with Chapman from their time together as Cal State Fullerton teammates, too.
San Francisco manager Bob Melvin had even called Davis in December, acknowledged the swirling rumors around Chapman, passed along an “I believe in you” compliment and expressed that he’s “very much leaning on you as a third baseman,” Davis recalled to The Athletic in February.
“I really appreciated that phone call,” Davis said last month, per the outlet. “I know there’s been a lot of rumors. But with the year I had last year, coming off an injury, to produce and prove to myself that I can play third base, whatever team it comes for, I’ll be fine.
“And if I’m still on the team and Matt Chapman signs with the team, well, we’re back to college and I’m trying to beat his butt every day catching more ground balls.”
In 2023, when Davis and the Giants traveled to Citi Field, he sensed Mets players were “walking on eggshells over there” as a season that began with postseason — and even World Series — expectations spiraled into a 75-87 flop.
He’d also experienced plenty of disruption with the Mets, playing for three different managers and five different general managers.
“With so many moving parts and so much instability,” Davis told reporters in July, “it wasn’t only me, there were a lot of guys in the clubhouse that felt like they were in survival mode.”
But after the Giants’ latest signing, Davis might be fighting to keep his role with the Giants — which resulted in him playing 144 games, hitting .248 and compiling 69 RBIs in 2023 — intact, too.