Jonathan Rayshad Davis (born May 12, 1992) is an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to c ...

in the Miami Marlins organization. He has previously played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, Milwaukee Brewers, and the Marlins.

High school and college

Davis attended Camden Fairview High School in Camden, Arkansas. As a senior, he recorded a .419

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

with three

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

s and 19 stolen bases. Undrafted out of high school, he then attended the

University of Central Arkansas The University of Central Arkansas (Central Arkansas or UCA) is a public university in Conway, Arkansas. Founded in 1907 as the Arkansas State Normal School, the university is one of the oldest in the U.S. state of Arkansas. As the state's only ...

, and played baseball for the Central Arkansas Bears for three seasons. In his freshman season, Davis batted .350 with five home runs, 30

runs batted in A run batted in (RBI; plural RBIs ) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if the ba ...

(RBI), and 21 stolen bases. As a sophomore, he hit .333 with 29 RBI and 17 stolen bases. In his third and final season with the Bears, Davis hit .268 with three home runs, 49 RBI, and 25 stolen bases.

Professional career

Toronto Blue Jays

The

selected Davis in the 15th round of the

2013 Major League Baseball draft The 2013 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft was held from June 6 through June 8, 2013. The first two rounds were broadcast from Studio 42 of the MLB Network in Secaucus, New Jersey. Each team received one selection per round, going in ...

. He was assigned to the Rookie Advanced

Bluefield Blue Jays The Bluefield Blue Jays were a minor league baseball team of the Rookie Appalachian League representing the twin cities of Bluefield, West Virginia, and Bluefield, Virginia. The team played their home games at Bowen Field at Peters Park, a hist ...

for the remainder of the year, and hit .238 with two home runs and 14 RBI in 43 games. Injuries limited Davis to 28 games in 2014, mostly with the

Low-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadiu ...

. He began the 2015 season with the

Single-A Class A, also known as Single-A and sometimes as Low-A, is the fourth-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States, below Triple-A, Double-A, and High-A. There are 30 teams classified at the Single-A level, one for each ...

Lansing Lugnuts The Lansing Lugnuts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Midwest League and the High-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. They are located in Lansing, Michigan, and play their home games at Jackson Field. The Midwest League came to Lans ...

, and was promoted to the

High-A High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

Dunedin Blue Jays The Dunedin Blue Jays are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and are the Single-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays Major League Baseball club. They are located in Dunedin, Florida, and play their home games at TD Ballpar ...

after hitting .408 in 13 games. With Dunedin, Davis appeared in 47 games and hit .230 with one home run and 14 RBI. Davis would then spend the entire 2016 campaign with Dunedin, hitting .252 and establishing career-highs in home runs (14), RBI (54), and stolen bases (33). During the offseason, Davis played in 14 games for the

Indios de Mayagüez The Indios de Mayagüez (Mayagüez Indians) are a baseball team in Puerto Rico's Liga de Béisbol Profesional Roberto Clemente (Roberto Clemente Professional Baseball League, in Spanish). Based in Mayagüez, the ''Indios'' have won 18 national ...

of the Puerto Rican Winter League. Davis played the entire 2017 season with the Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats The New Hampshire Fisher Cats are a Minor League Baseball team based in Manchester, New Hampshire. The team, which plays in the Eastern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays major league club. During the team's first seaso ...

, hitting .249 with 10 home runs, 45 RBI, and 20 stolen bases in 128 games. Playing in the offseason for the second consecutive season, he appeared in 21 games for the

Peoria Javelinas The Peoria Javelinas are a baseball team that plays in the West Division of the Arizona Fall League. The Javelinas play their home games in the Peoria Sports Complex in Peoria, Arizona. The ballpark is also the spring training facility for the S ...

of the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season sports league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during the autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are fille ...

(AFL), and helped the team win the AFL championship. Davis opened the 2018 season with New Hampshire. On June 26, he recorded the first cycle in Fisher Cats franchise history. Davis hit .302 with five home runs, 33 RBI, and 19 stolen bases in 78 games with New Hampshire before he was promoted to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

in July. On September 4, Davis was called up by the Blue Jays. He hit his first base hit on September 12 against the Red Sox. Davis started the 2019 season in Buffalo, but was called up on May 10. Davis hit his first major league home run on May 27 against Hunter Wood in an 8–3 loss to the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

. He ended the season hitting .181 in 37 games. Davis made a fantastic leaping catch to rob a home run in the last game of the

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

regular season, and it was considered to be a potential "catch of the year". Overall with the 2020 Blue Jays, Davis batted .259 with 1 home run and 6 RBIs in 13 games. On July 30, 2021, Davis was designated for assignment by the Blue Jays following the acquisition of

Joakim Soria Joakim Agustín Soria Ramos (born May 18, 1984) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Milwa ...

New York Yankees

On August 3, 2021, Davis was claimed off of waivers by the

. On August 10, 2021 Davis scored his first Yankees run. On September 9, 2021 the Yankees designated Davis for assignment. He was outrighted to the Triple-A

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders The Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (often abbreviated to SWB RailRiders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. They are located in Moosic, Pennsylvania, in the ...

two days later. Davis became a free agent following the season.

Milwaukee Brewers

On November 18, 2021, Davis signed a minor league deal with the Milwaukee Brewers with an invitation to spring training. He began the 2022 season with the Triple–A Nashville Sounds, playing in 48 games and hitting .294/.396/.429 with 4 home runs, 22 RBI, and 14 stolen bases. On June 18, 2022, Davis had his contract selected to the major league roster. In 37 games for Milwaukee, Davis batted .224/.344/.237 with no home runs, 4 RBI, and 7 stolen bases. On September 26, Davis was removed from the

40-man roster A Major League Baseball roster is a list of players who are allowed, by league agreement, to play for a Major League Baseball (MLB) team. Each MLB team maintains two rosters: an active roster of players eligible to participate in an MLB game, an ...

and sent outright to Triple–A Nashville. He elected free agency following the season on October 6.

Detroit Tigers

On January 30, 2023, Davis signed a minor league contract with the Detroit Tigers organization. Playing in 36 games for the Triple-A

Toledo Mud Hens The Toledo Mud Hens are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. They are located in Toledo, Ohio, and play their home games at Fifth Third Field. A Mud Hens team has played in ...

, Davis hit .258/.336/.516 with 5 home runs, 20 RBI, and 5 stolen bases.

Miami Marlins

On May 22, 2023, Davis was traded to the Miami Marlins in exchange for Brady Allen. Following his acquisition, he was assigned to the Triple-A

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in the area. The team pla ...

. The next day, Davis was selected to the major league roster. In 34 games for the Marlins, he batted .244/.307/.378 with 2 home runs and 10 RBI. In a July 4 game against the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

, Davis suffered a right knee contusion after banging his knee on the outfield turf attempting to catch a Tommy Edman line drive. The next day, he was placed on the injured list after an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to form pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes of the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and radio waves ...

revealed a right knee sprain. After undergoing surgery on July 6, manager

Skip Schumaker Jared Michael "Skip" Schumaker ( ; born February 3, 1980) is an American professional baseball player, coach and manager, who is the manager of the Miami Marlins of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was an outfielder and second baseman for the St ...

announced that he would miss 3-6 months, likely ending his season. Following the season on October 31, Davis was removed from the 40–man roster and sent outright to Triple–A Jacksonville. However, Davis rejected the assignment and elected free agency on November 3. Davis returned to the Marlins on a minor league contract for 2024.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jonathan 1992 births African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Canada Baseball players from Arkansas Bluefield Blue Jays players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Central Arkansas Bears baseball players Dunedin Blue Jays players Gulf Coast Blue Jays players Indios de Mayagüez players Lansing Lugnuts players Living people Major League Baseball outfielders Miami Marlins players Milwaukee Brewers players Nashville Sounds players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players New York Yankees players People from Camden, Arkansas Peoria Javelinas players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players Toronto Blue Jays players Vancouver Canadians players Wisconsin Timber Rattlers players 21st-century African-American sportspeople