Jonathan Davis has found a home in Miami

A minor trade has been paying off big time for the Marlins as Davis continues to fill valuable role.

Barely a month ago, the Miami Marlins were in a vulnerable position. Hovering around the .500 mark, the team was in need of outfield depth with Jazz Chisholm Jr., Jesús Sánchez and Avisaíl García all on the injured list. So on May 22, the Marlins traded away prospect Brady Allen to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Jonathan Davis and immediately elevated Davis to their active roster.

A 15th-round draft pick in 2013, Davis had spent most of his career in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. Since then, he bounced around the league to the Yankees and Brewers before signing a minor league deal in Detroit. The 31-year-old had been performing solidly against Triple-A competition, but he struggled in previous opportunities in the majors (.185/.291/.245/.536, 54 wRC+ in 171 games from 2018-2022). Expectations were low.

Through 27 games this season, Davis has been a key piece to the Marlins' success, slashing .266/.326/.418/.744 with nine RBIs and a 104 wRC+ as their primary center fielder. Even with Sánchez healthy again and Chisholm about to come off the IL as well, this under-the-radar depth piece has made the case that he deserves to stick around indefinitely.

"It definitely feels good to be able to contribute somewhere and feel like it's home," said Davis prior to Friday's game against the Pittsburgh Pirates.

"I don't think anything's really changed," Davis added in regards to his offensive production. "I think it's really just a matter of the process, man. It's a tough league up here. It's hard having success when you don't get as much opportunity and you're just going back [down to the minors]. When you do get those opportunities, you learn different things that help you tweak your game and I feel like for me, it's really just an accumulation of all those opportunities and growing from them."

Even more so than his bat, the Marlins were drawn to Davis because of his center field experience and athleticism.

"I feel like I'm pretty good out there," said Davis. "I think the way I get better is just through my early work, trying to get balls off the bat in BP working on my first step."

Davis looks up to Kevin Kiermaier, a longtime Tampa Bay Ray with three career Gold Glove awards who's had an impressive bounce-back year with the Blue Jays.

"I've been watching him for quite a while and ever since I got drafted," said Davis. "Just being able to go out there and put the work in has helped me a lot." Davis had an opportunity to talk to Kiermaier this past week when the Marlins hosted the Blue Jays for a three-game set.

Davis currently ranks in the 90th percentile of sprint speed, according to Baseball Savant. He's thankful that MLB rule changes for the 2023 season—enlarging the bases and limiting the number of times pitchers can disengage with the rubber—make base-stealing easier (though he has only swiped one as a Marlin so far).

"I think in general, guys are more prone to run now with the rules," said Davis. "So it's good for me. It's good for the game. I think it's good for the fans, so it's been great."

Beyond doing what he can to hold onto his roster spot, Davis wants to win and bring a World Series to Miami: "I want us to contend for the World Series. I think that's the ultimate goal. I think it'd be cool to bring that to Miami and then just continue to contribute."

Photo courtesy of Miami Marlins