Dominic

Smith

Smith has rejected an outright assignment to Triple-A Louisville and will test the free agent waters after going unclaimed on waivers. The 29-year-old first baseman will be ineligible for the postseason if he lands with a contender in the coming weeks.

Smith has the ability to reject the outright assignment and hit the open market, but he would be ineligible for a postseason roster in that case. The 29-year-old first baseman went unclaimed on waivers after being designated for assignment earlier this week.

Smith is being removed from the active roster to make room for Blake Dunn. The 29-year-old will now hit the waiver wire, and there’s a very good chance that the former top prospect is playing for yet another organization before the year ends. If he isn’t claimed, he’ll likely head back to Triple-A.

As anticipated, Smith will take a seat with left-hander Bailey Falter toeing the slab for the Pirates. It appears as though he and Ty France will operate in a straight platoon at first base for the time being, with Smith seeing the strong side of the action there. He could carve out some usefulness from a fantasy perspective in weeks where the Reds face a slew of right-handers.

It was a quiet debut for Smith with the Reds. He had a tough draw facing Paul Skenes in his first game with his new team, but he didn’t cover himself in glory with three strikeouts in three plate appearances. Smith figures to platoon with Ty France at first base for the time being. He’s hitting .234 with a .698 OPS and 34 RBI this year.

The deal is now official. Smith heads to Cincinnati just a handful of days after being released by the Red Sox after Triston Casas returned from a multi-month absence due to a rib injury. The 29-year-old is merely an effective stopgap solution at this stage of his career, but he should provide the Reds with some additional first base depth to complement fellow veteran Ty France.

The deal is pending a physical. Smith got off to a rough start with the Red Sox but was far more effective from July on, hitting .272/.330/.485 in 112 plate appearances since the beginning of July. However, with Triston Casas coming back, the Red Sox had to move on from Smith, so the veteran will go back to the NL. His presence in Cincinnati is not good news for Jeimer Candalerio’s potential return to the field in 2024 and means that Ty France is not a locked into at-bats as the starting first baseman as we had previously believed.

Even though he’d hit .272/.330/.485 in 112 plate appearances since the beginning of July, and he’s not making much money, Smith cleared waivers. One imagines he’ll quickly get picked up now. He’d make particular sense for a Brewers team currently hoping either Jake Bauers or Tyler Black can get hot.

With Triston Casas (ribs) returning from the injured list on Friday there unfortunately wasn’t room left for Smith on the active roster. He performed fairly well during his time with the club — slashing .237/.317/.390 with six homers and 34 RBI in 278 plate appearances while playing strong defense at first base. He could very easily generate interest on waivers.

While the move is yet to be announced, this was expected with Boston also expected to activate Triston Casas for Friday’s game against Baltimore. Smith hit .237 with six home runs and 34 RBI with the Red Sox this year.