(Reuters) – Free agent outfielder Rajai Davis returned to the Oakland Athletics on a one-year contract after he helped the Cleveland Indians to the World Series last year.
Davis signed a one-year, $6 million contract to join the Athletics according to local media reports.
The 36-year-old’s return to the A’s came after the Indians declined the $17.2 million qualifying offer needed to retain him, which would have also cost the American League champions a draft pick. Davis hit .249 with a career-high 12 home runs and a
league-leading 43 stolen bases last season.
His most memorable moment came in the World Series when he blasted a game-tying home run in the ninth inning that sent Game Seven against the Chicago Cubs into extra innings.
Davis played for the Athletics from 2008-10 and is expected to fill the team’s need for a center fielder.
(Writing by Jahmal Corner in Los Angeles; editing by Greg Stutchbury)