J.D. Davis excited for a new start with the Yankees — and to be far away from Oakland

J.D. Davis was unemployed. Again.

With the A’s not even in the same stratosphere as a .500 record, general manager David Forst called to tell him the news last week: They were going to go younger, and Davis was going to be designated for assignment. Oakland being Oakland, the team didn’t have much in terms of facilities, so he packed his stuff and set off for Arizona, taking dry swings and waiting for his agent to call.

“My agent texted me saying that there was something about to go down,” he said from the visitor’s dugout at Citi Field before the first game of the Subway Series Tuesday. “I didn’t know what team and I didn’t know where I was going.”

And then?

“I was excited,” he said. “I know the Subway Series in itself is a big deal for New York. It’s kind of unreal because last week, I didn’t really have a job and all of a sudden, I’m back here in New York and playing with the Yankees. It’s pretty surreal. It’s a pretty great opportunity. It’s a blessing.”

Baseball can be weird, but Davis’ trajectory has been especially odd this season - and somehow, Tuesday, that meant making his Yankees debut playing against his old team in Flushing. It started, though, with him signing with the Giants in the offseason, getting released during spring training, signing with the woeful A’s, hitting the injured list with a groin injury, and then being DFAed on June 18.

But then the Yankees started hurting: Anthony Rizzo and Giancarlo Stanton are both on the injured list, and DJ LeMahieu hasn’t been productive at the plate. With the trade deadline over a month away, the Yankees needed to bolster their corner infield positions, and maybe acquire a player who could do some damage against lefties.

And Davis, despite some struggles, fits those requirements. He started at first base Tuesday and hit sixth against lefty David Peterson.

He said that the early-season chaos probably affected him at the plate, but that he feels he’s coming around. Despite slashing .236/.304/.366 this year, he was getting hot when the A’s cut him - going 12-for-34 (.353) with two homers, three RBIs and five walks in his last 12 games.

“I’m seeing more pitches,” he said. “When you start and stop so many times and the first three, four games that you come back, you try to find your balance, you try to find your strong suits and I think over the last week when I was with the A’s, that was when things really started to click…[All the change] is definitely difficult and part of the adversity of baseball. However, I’m excited and motivated and I’ve felt good the last couple of days.”

Aaron Boone said Davis won’t be part of a straight platoon, since he has confidence that rookie Ben Rice can handle himself against left-handed pitching. That said, with the Yankees facing a glut of lefties right now, Davis is an added weapon - a right-handed bat with a .779 OPS against lefties, along with 28 career homers in 660 at bats.

He’s historically been a below-average fielder, but showed improvement last year, particularly at first base. He’s been less successful at his other two positions, third and left.

He’s “a guy that we feel like could be a presence,” Boone said. “We’ve had a little bit of a tough week that’s come against left-handed pitchers. I feel like that shouldn’t be the trend or the norm moving forward. Obviously, [Stanton] going out hurts that a little bit, hurts the middle of your lineup a little bit but hopefully, we can piece it together with other guys and a guy like J.D. Davis that hopefully gives us something in that middle, back-end mix.”

As for Davis, he seems excited to be back in New York with the potential promise of more stability. It doesn’t hurt that he went from playing for one of the worst teams in baseball to one of the best.

“It’s exciting to go from a team that was just sub-.500 to a team that’s going for a division, going for a pennant and always looking to win a World Series,” he said. “Whenever you’re a part of that, I think it’s energizing and motivating for you to come in and be your best.”

In this case, it’s more change - but the good kind.

“I’m starting to get used to it and it’s actually helped me to be more accountable in my routine and accountable in my performance,” he said. “I think from what I’ve learned from the last week or two, it’s only going to benefit me and get things rolling.”

By Laura Albanese

laura.albanese@newsday.com@AlbaneseLaura

Laura Albanese is a reporter, feature writer and columnist covering local professional sports teams; she began at Newsday in 2007 as an intern.