Chris Davis will be back with the O’s in 2016 and beyond, agreeing to a seven-year, $161 million deal with the team this morning. ESR staff react to the news:

Derek Arnold

Well, color me shocked. I had prepared a piece saying goodbye to Davis nearly two months ago, titled “So Long, and Thanks for All the Dongs.” Imagine my surprise this morning when I got to re-title that piece (as well as completely re-working the beginning and end) to reflect the fact that Crush is staying put in Birdland.

While I admit that I was getting excited about Yoenis Cespedes yesterday, and I am terrified that Peter Angelos will now seal up the check book for the foreseeable future, I can’t say that I’m at all sad that we get to watch Davis crush baseballs at Oriole Park well into the 2020’s.

Phil Backert

This is a great day to be an Orioles fan. All everyone has heard is the team won’t spend any money, but that argument can no longer be made. Does this handicap the team moving forward? Probably. Will the team regret this in the last couple years of the deal? More than likely. However, those are arguments for another day.

The organization stepped up and paid a premium player which is all anyone has ever wanted. There is still a need in right field and obviously this team will only go as far as their starting pitching, so Dan Duquette still has some work to do before spring training starts.

Joe Polek

I was called “delusional” even by some on this site, but I always believed that Chris Davis would be with the Orioles in 2016. I always felt that sooner or later, Davis would tell his agent, “Get me signed in Baltimore”… and I think after all the Cespedes talk Friday, that’s exactly what he did.

Davis is getting a 7-year, $161 million contract to stay in Baltimore. So the Orioles increased their offer to keep Davis. Listen, I love Davis, but I was getting excited about the Cespedes deal, especially for a lot less money. Now, with this Davis contract, is there any money left for the Orioles to get a SP? At least the O’s get a left-handed bat in the lineup.

So with Davis at 1B, Trumbo at DH, does Nolan Reimold become the Orioles every day RF? I think the defensive line-up looked better with Cespedes in RF, but I am happy to see the Orioles front office at least spend some money.

But unless the Orioles get a Starting Pitcher, this team is not looking much different than last season, and that’s a problem.

Stephen Adams

On the one hand, this is by far the largest free agent contract the O’s have ever given a player. It speaks volumes that Angelos finally opened up his pocketbook. Davis is extremely athletic (and generally durable)…so I think he’ll live up to his contract for the first 3-4 years. He’s a premium slugger, a great clubhouse/community guy and he shores up 1B for the foreseeable future (considering the O’s severely lack position prospects).

On the other hand, I firmly believe the O’s were bidding against themselves. I think this is a gross overpay that severely handcuffs the Orioles from making more pressing acquisitions, namely at least a starting pitcher and a reliable outfielder. Right now the O’s are without their best pitcher from last season and still need another OF’er. I think Davis essentially closes the door on any premium FAs in the OF, so we’re most likely going to get someone from the bargain bin a la Dan Duquette’s 2015 moves. And it’s very real that Davis’s contract could look like Ryan Howard’s has for the Phillies. Let’s hope note.

Now, the bigger issue: this club was a .500 club (they had to win out to finish that way) last season. They’re now down a SP. This club as constructed will be lucky to win 76-78 games (barring bounce-back years from Tillman, Gonzo and/or a breakout year from Gausman).

And finally the biggest: how does this impact Manny Machado? Machado is a player you build around…and the O’s didn’t get it done last year when they needed to. And they failed to do so this offseason. Unfortunately I’m setting myself up to the inevitable…and I doubt Manny Machado is an Oriole in 2019 and beyond.

Jonathan French

Chris “Crush” Davis is back.

Peter Angelos gets his man, like he has before in Albert Belle, Matt Wieters, and to some extend Vlad Guerrero. This all along was Scott Boras vs. Peter Angelos, not Dan Duquette, not Buck Showalter and not the fans. So many were tired and frustrated with Chris Davis, but this is how Boras works. I said that this looked like it was going to play out similar to the Matt Holliday situation, and lo and behold it did.

Some say that Angelos bid against himself in the end, just like it was said the Cardinals bid against themselves for Holliday in 2010 , but just like any negotiation, both sides came to meet in the middle. Boras was going to have to come down and Angelos was going to have to come up. The Holliday contract has been far from a disaster, and with deferred money likely in the deal, I doubt this contract will be such an albatross in the later years as people are worried it will be.

People look at Ryan Howard as a comparison, but Howard was not a gym rat like Davis is and like Holliday is. I hardly doubt Davis going to let himself fall into poor shape just because he has a ton of guaranteed money because keeping in shape is something he takes pride in. It’s part of his lifestyle.

The Orioles get not only power back with Davis, but his batting eye and ability to wear down pitchers unlike the majority of the lineup. The home runs were awesome to watch, but it was the career best 12.5% BB rate, his 4.16 P/PA and the .390 wOBA from last season that the Orioles needed the most. Davis has increased his ability as a hitter each year he’s been a member of the Orioles, even though the results may not have consistently been there.

Some may worry that the Orioles won’t be able to retain a player like Manny Machado, and this could be true, but the Orioles are built to win now and worry about the future later. Worst case, the Orioles can trade Machado for a ransom to fill their minor league system if it comes to that. On the flip side though, players have seen the Orioles are loyal to their own, and that’s a pretty good selling point for future players that become Orioles.

No one can say Peter Angelos is cheap considering the money he’s allocated for Davis, O’Day and Trumbo in spite of unexpectedly retaining Matt Wieters. He may still have certain tendencies and rules for who and how players are acquired, but Peter Angelos will spend, especially when he wants to win.