The Rays and Royals “could have interest”in free agent slugger Dominic Smith, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Smith was recently non-tendered by the Mets after a disappointing campaign in 2022.
Two years ago such a move would have been unfathomable after Smith slashed .316/.377/.616 with ten home runs in the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, earning down-ballot NL MVP votes for his efforts. However, it’s been a tough slide for the 27-year-old who’s been worth a combined -1.1 fWAR in the two seasons since.
The beginning of that slide came last year, when Smith played through a partially torn labrum in his shoulder and hit just .244/.304/.363 with 11 home runs. His struggles continued into 2022 as he battled for regular playing time, he ended up splitting time between Triple-A and the big leagues. With the Mets, he’d finish up hitting .194/.276/.286 without a single home run, good for a wRC+ of just 67. He went a lot better at Triple-A, slashing .284/.367/.472 with ten home runs in 54 games.
The Mets’ decision to non-tender him drew to a close and underwhelming time in Queens for a player who was drafted 11th overall in 2013 and regularly featured on top-100 prospect lists. His combined 150 wRC+ over the 2019 and 2020 campaigns showed Smith had the talent to excel at the highest level, but emergence of Pete Alonso blocked Smith at first base and he had to spend a fair bit of time in the outfield, where he graded out poorly.
MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz pegged Smith for a $4MM salary in arbitration, so given his age, talent and low-cost it’s not surprising to see a couple of smaller market teams linked to him. The severe drop in power since his shoulder problems is a big concern, but he had a strong line at Triple-A and it’s possible he’d benefit from the regular playing time he often found hard to come by in New York.
For the Rays, the need at first base is obvious after they traded Ji-Man Choi to the Pirates early in the off-season. Smith could take over as Tampa Bay’s everyday first baseman, while filling in in the outfield and at designated hitter when needed.
It’s less obvious in Kansas City, where the emergence of rookie Vinnie Pasquantino at first base makes the addition of another left handed slugger less important. Of course, the Royals don’t currently have a clear DH option, and Smith could well spend time there while spelling Pasquantino at first base from time-to-time, but they do also have left handed hitter Ryan O’Hearn, and Salvador Perez will likely spend time at the DH spot moving forward, so there’s not a clear need for a hitter like Smith.
There’s no guarantee Smith would perform like a starter for either team, even if they’re willing to offer him regular playing time. However, there’s plenty of upside for the acquiring team, which would also control him via arbitration for the 2024 season, while the likely insignificant financial cost would make parting ways a bit more palatable if Smith were to continue his struggles to begin the season.
Pratto is still on hand as well plus we’re going to want to DH Salvy some and have inexplicably brought back O’Hearn. Doesn’t seem to make much sense in KC.
Can play LF to,
Nah
Anyone can be penciled into LF if you’re desperate
And it’s kind of a reach to call him “a slugger.”
So can O’Hearn. So can Melendez. So can Hunter Dozier. Kyle Isbel. Michael Taylor. Drew Waters. Nate Eaton. Edward Oliveres. There’s talk of Mondesi playing some outfield. We’ve got plenty of outfielders so it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense to be dumpster diving. Either go get someone legit or just stand pat. I’m not talking Aaron Judge here, but if we’re going to add it should be someone who is a clear upgrade over what we have, and Dom Smith ain’t it.
Here’s another one of those guys who came up set the world on fire, then God pissed heavenly moisture down from the sky and rained on the parade when the league got the book on them and they couldn’t make the adjustment
Pratto is a big question mark. When called up to the majors, he had a 36% K rate this season. His career K-rate is now 30%. While the shift is going away, the Royals are going to either have to move on or wait and see how Pratto handles a world without a shift. Right now, he’s not an option.
However, we do know that Vinnie Pasquantino is the real thing. Pasquantino crushes lefties and is excellent against righties. Resigning O’hearn makes sense for a cash strapped team – he is cheap and he hit .244 against righties in 2022 – making him a decent back-up for Pasquantino. This makes even more sense if the Royals plan to move Hunter Dozier (and possibly Pratto).
Dominic Smith has shown some ability to play LF. He had a .994 F% over 114 games in LF in 2021. As you point out, Salvy is going to need to play more DH. Melendez will have to shift in and play catcher. That leaves LF open for the taking. While the Royals have options in the OF, many of them are defense first players like Isbel, Taylor, and Waters. Their one offensive weapon in the OF is Edward Olivares who missed much of 2022 with injuries. If the Royals could net a cheap power bat for left field, that might help with some of their offensive woes.
Royals make no sense Puma is clueless
I was thinking why the Royals? Sometimes a team like them will jump out and sign someone?
Amazing that Dominic was drafted 20 picks before Judge. Yankees were actually the only team to draft Judge in the 1st round after every other club said nope. I’m no Cashman fan but this was probably one of the best choices he made as a GM.
Merc, how do you see the OF next season? Mookie + CT + someone else??
@trumbo. Depends what teams OF are we talking?
Dodgers
I think Judge goes to the Giants or Dodgers.
Mookie + Judge + CT3 would be pretty cool.
Even the Yankees passed on Judge in the 1st rd, he was their 2nd pick of the rd.
MFF
Every team “was the only team” that drafted a particular player in a round
Only way a player is drafted by multiple teams is if it is different years.
That was a bizarre comment for sure lol
MFF Even the Yankees passed on Judge. He wasn’t their first pick.
Smith is one of those players that experts claims will be a great player but never becomes more of a bench player. Next year is his break or bust year. Maybe a new organization will do well for him.
Not really. He was on his way until the injury.
Smith was more than a bench player. An injury and playing behind Alonso set him back. Good guy. I wish him well.
Yeah, he is a good guy. Sorry that the shoulder injury set him back, and I hope he proved at Syracuse it had healed. I thought he’d be a good candidate for a team could use a lefty bat off the bench even with a set righthanded bat at first. I can see him as a lefty compliment to Garrett Cooper in Miami or Ryan Mountcastle in Baltimore. He should have a few teams looking to test him to see if he can put it back together.
….Smith has a decent glove at first and maybe he will get lucky and a team like Houston or Tampa decides to roll the dice on him as a buy low replacement for Gurriel. or Ji Man……
Nah, if the Astros want an average to below average 1B, they’ll just re-sign Gurriel.
I can see the Cubs making a play. They always liked him and they need a 1B. And they don’t want to spend much since they have Mervis almost ready.
Cubbies would be a good landing spot for Smith. They could give him more PT than he’s ever had in the past. Couple that with a good hitter’s park, and Smith could put up the numbers once predicted for him as a first round draft pick.
Might be a good fit in Cinncy should the Reds move on from Joey Votto.
MLB Trade Rumors, why did you refer to Smith as a slugger? 😀
Anyway, after it was revealed he had been struggling with sleep apnea, I’m sure there was optimism that treatment of it would lead to improvement in his game. Why wouldn’t it? Sleep deprivation usually has profound, if not serious consequences.. He did seem on his way for a brief while, to becoming a pretty good hitter with a knack for doubling.
I’m here to tell you that sleep apnea is no joke. I have it and while it took me a long time to get used to the cpap, my energy levels and quality of life have significantly improved.
A ‘slugger’ who hit 14 HR as a 1Bman in a full season of AA, then 16 HR in a full season at AAA—in a hitters’ park.
What’s the opposite of ‘slugger’?
Because the Royals don’t have enough LH 1B/DH types?
Never enough!
Could be the next big success for the rays hitting lab
Hitting lab? they teach guys to hit ;less than 8 homers a year?
Seems like a good fit for the Tigers. Could platoon with Miggy at DH, and backup at 1b if Torkelson can’t take a step forward.
Best wishes for Dom. Good guy. NYM gave him every chance. Maybe a change of scenery does him well
“The Rays and Royals “could have interest”in free agent slugger Dominic Smith,”
Slugger hit zero homers in 2022.
Have watched him since drafted, Tons of potential, but a bit of a head trip when Alonso passed him by, and never recovered fully… maybe a change of scenery will help, doubt it, seems destine for becoming another baseball footnote…
“….but a bit of a head trip when Alonso passed him by…”
Huh?
He and Pete were and remain best friends.
I never saw two guys that played the same position that pulled so hard for one another.
There is nothing wrong with the man. He couldn’t get consistent AB’s with the Mets and suffered some injuries.
Dom is a perfect fit for the Rays. And if that fails he should go into coaching and managing. Baseball smart. A solid human being.
Yes, they pulled for each other, but Dom could never got his act together once he was no longer the big hyped prospect…
And yes couldn’t get the AB’s since he couldn’t produce… Mets gave him more than a fair share of chances, and he was an under acheiver ….
He’s best trying to latch on with a TB less stress…
He was no longer the ‘big hyped prospect’ in 2020, when he hit:
.316/.377/.616/.993
Never was a head trip.
You can’t call a guy a bum unless you outperform him.
Never said he was a bum… just could never live up to the hype
So get your knickers out of the wad…
and a 193 avg @ $4.5M right… that makes sense
Interest in what? Playing baseball?
he’s an injury prone bum but he’s also a slugger
What a hoot!
sorry 11 hr in a season at best does not a slugger make… LOL
well, it was 11 in 177 ab in 2019 and 10 in 177 in 2020. So he was basically a “slugger” until the torn labrum. From what I heard, he had a disagreement with coaches last year on fixing his swing, so he went into the proverbial doghouse. Who knows how true that is
As a lifelong Rays fan, I should be used to these type of underwhelming acquisitions. This could end up being a Paredes-type acquisition where they get more out of Brown than their former club, but this won’t solve their 2022 power outage.
Don’t sleep on Brown. He’s the real deal.
Would the Pirates went for Choi if they knew a ton of other first basemen would be available?
This will be the Giants big splash in the offseason.
Nah. They have plenty of better qualified LH DH types already on the roster.
I always thought that Smith would fit well with the Pirates if only for a year or two.BC May have seen the competition though and figured that a bird in hand would be better than nothing.They are probably very similar players assuming Choi is fine after surgery this year.
“Could have interest” is a long way from discussing lineups. Especially when many times something is written that’s “news” to the GM.
Bet this article was written to meet a deadline. “Could have interest” isn’t worthy of discussing lineups
Nothing like basing a possibility on a pile of solid maybes. “Could” is about as nebulous term as there is.
No thanks, there’s a reason the Mets have been trying to deal him for the last 3yr
He is the Miguel andujar and Clint Frazier of the Yankees. Mets should have trades this guy years ago now they will get nothing.
Dom to the Rays makes sense.
He’s a solid defensive 1B and LH platoon bat,
who will probably sign for not much more than the minimum and they just created a hole at 1B with the Ji Man Choi trade.
Don’t rule out the Phillies. Gonna be without Harper for two months. Smith would be a nice option at 1B with Hoskins moving to DH. Of course, rumors persist, at least on talk radio, that the Phillies should trade Hoskins. If that happens, I’d be all for Smith playing regularly at 1B. Much better glove than Hoskins, plus at CBP, he could be a 20 homer guy.
Backup-Phillies have Hall who is better but without a position.
If anything Dombrowski trades Hopkins for pitching to open up first base for Hall.
Dom Smith makes a lot of sense for the Rays.
A solid defender at 1B and LH platoon bat,
who won’t sign for much more than the minimum, which they happened to just created a hole at 1B with the Ji Man Choi trade
He will sign with the Rays and hit .300 with 20 hrs and play excellent 1st base. The writing is on the wall with this one. He had some sleep apnea issues and thyroid problem that have been addressed.
Smith would have been a good fit with the Pirates. As it turns out, they could have had him without trading for Choi had they waited for the FA market to materialize. But, hey, you expect the Pirates to be smart!
Bucs are toast until the cheapskate owner sells the team to someone who cares about winning.
As an aside, been to about a dozen MLB parks and Pittsburgh’s is by far the best. Beautiful view of the city, and I love all the fans who just walk to the game by crossing the bridge.
Backup- He would have been but BC would see competition to get him so he went with the easy button for Choi.
Only 27, Bellinger only 26. These guys should be a great gamble for any team
There’s no chance anyone is picking up Dom and paying him $4m for 2023.
He’s also a lousy 1Bman, on par with Alonso–better at scooping but with significantly less range. He should be a minor league FA groomed for DHing and very occasional back up starts at 1B, for a team willing to be patient and see if he can keep the weight off and if he’s using the breathing machine that ostensibly helped him in 2019-2020.
No one said anyone would pay $4 million for him as a buy low guy. However, he’s a solid glove at 1B. Maybe you should do some research before you start talking out your wazoo.
If the Rays are going to sign a left handed hitting 1B whose power was sapped because of labrum injury, I’d rather go after Bellinger. He was better before the injury and is a good base runner and defender who is good in the OF too. Two things Smith cannot say.
Dear JJ, we don’t need this bum