The Yankees are in agreement with first baseman Dominic Smith on a minor league contract, reports Jack Curry of the YES Network. Presumably the Roc Nation Sports client will get a non-roster invite to MLB camp.
Smith will vie for a big league roster spot for a ninth consecutive season. He has spent more than half that time in New York as a member of the Mets. Smith was a top prospect who posted huge offensive numbers in a limited sample between 2019-20. His bat has markedly tailed off since that point. Smith struggled between 2021-22, leading the Mets to move on. He had a middling .254/.326/.366 showing over a career-high 586 plate appearances with the Nationals the following year.
The 29-year-old divided last season between the Red Sox and Reds. He got a decent amount of run as Boston’s starting first baseman while Triston Casas was injured. Smith hit .237/.317/.390 through 278 plate appearances with the Sox. Boston released him in mid-August when Casas made his return from the injured list. Smith inked a big league contract with Cincinnati shortly thereafter. He only got into nine games, hitting .192 without a home run over 29 trips before the Reds cut him loose. He finished the season with a cumulative .233/.313/.378 slash.
New York signed Paul Goldschmidt to take over as the primary first baseman. They’ve got Giancarlo Stanton penciled in at designated hitter. That gives Smith an uphill battle to cracking the MLB roster out of camp, though Stanton has a lengthy injury history. Ben Rice is on the 40-man roster as a lefty-hitting first baseman, so Smith would probably need to outperform him during Spring Training to have a shot at an Opening Day job.