The Nationals and first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith are in agreement on a one-year deal, pending a physical. He will make a $2MM salary with a further $2MM available in performance bonuses. Smith is a client of Roc Nation Sports.
Smith, 28 in June, is a former first round pick, having been selected by the Mets 11th overall in 2013. He went on to earn high praise from prospect evaluators, with Baseball America ranking him one of the top 100 prospects in the game in 2014, 2016 and 2017. He struggled in his first tastes of the majors in 2017 and 2018 but seemed to finally click in 2019. He hit 11 home runs in 89 games and produced a batting line of .282/.355/.525. That production was 34 percent better than league average, as evidenced by his 134 wRC+.
The problem was that 2019 was also the rookie breakout of Pete Alonso, who launched 53 home runs and cemented himself as the first baseman in Queens. That forced Smith to move off first and spend more time in left field, where he’s been ranked as a poor defender. He continued hitting in the shortened 2020 season though, launching 10 home runs in just 50 games and finishing with a line of .316/.377/.616, wRC+ of 166.
The past couple of campaigns have been a struggle, as he played through a partially torn labrum in 2021 and saw his batting line fall to .244/.304/.363 and a wRC+ of 86. In 2022, he struggled at the start of the season while battling J.D. Davis for playing time and was optioned to Triple-A for a time. He finished the year with a batting line of .194/.276/.384 in the majors for a 67 wRC+, but a .284/.367/.472 in the minors for a 122 wRC+.
Smith still could have been retained via arbitration for another couple of seasons, with MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz projecting him for an arbitration salary of $4MM in 2023. Instead, the Mets decided it was time to move on and non-tendered him. Smith will now join the Nats at a slightly lower guarantee but still could get to that $4MM figure via the incentives. If he has a successful campaign, the Nats can retain him for 2024 via arbitration, or use the extra year as a selling point in shopping Smith at the deadline.
Perhaps more importantly, Smith has a chance to get a regular job as a first baseman for the first time in years, with Bob Nightengale of USA Today reporting that’s where Smith will be playing. The rebuilding Nationals had Josh Bell at first for 2021 and the first half of 2022, but he went to the Padres in the Juan Soto trade and is now a free agent. The Nats got Luke Voit back in that deal but non-tendered him at season’s end. After Bell’s departure, 30-year-old rookie Joey Meneses got an extended look and mashed 13 home runs in 56 games. He will likely get plenty more at-bats in 2023 but he can also play the outfield corners, or he and Smith could share first base and the designated hitter slot. Jeimer Candelario could be in the mix as well, though he and Carter Kieboom will be jockeying for the third base job.
Since being non-tendered by the Mets, Smith has also garnered interest from the Rays, Royals, Cubs and Padres. If those clubs are still looking to bolster their first base depth charts in the coming weeks, some of the remaining free agents include Voit, Trey Mancini, Eric Hosmer and Brandon Belt.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today first reported that the two sides were in agreement on a one-year deal. Robert Murray of FanSided first reported the financial breakdown.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Good for him. I hope he has a career year.
Me too. As far as us fans can tell from observation, he seems to be a good guy. He has mostly shown a pretty low floor, but occasionally a high ceiling. Hopefully he gets 500+ ab’s to prove himself capable.
would’ve rather had Pirates give him a look than Choi
oh well, bring on the Ji-Man
Goku- That would have made too much sense.
I am afraid that Jiman may be another Yoshi.
Smith has some uptake in that he is still young and controllable.
There may be something behind the scenes though.
ya like him not wanting to play for the pirates lol
Goku-Not sure what you mean by that.lol
you said something behind the scenes.
I said Dom Smith maybe not interested in pirates
Go-Sorry,I was more cryptic than you were.
I meant that there could be something going on with Smith that no fans would know about like being a bad teammate,bad personality,injury history etc.
With all due respect to him I do not think that he is good enough nor desirable enough to pick his team.The Nats has a worse record than the Pirates last year.
the nats have more World Series wins in the past 5 years than the pirates have in the last 50
makes sense for him to stay in the east and show the Mets what they’re presumably missing out on
I hardly think that he cares that the Nats won in 2019.
It was their only championship in 50 years.
The Pirates have had three in 62 years.
We’ll see who has the better record this year.
Good luck Dom!
Good move for both sides. Brown will likely get decent playing time and will have the opportunity to play himself into a trade at the deadline. Nationals get a low risk high reward 1B/OF that at the very least is a solid bench bat.
You’re thinking of Domonic Brown, who was on the Phillies from 2010-2015.
And you’re thinking of Murphy Brown, a sitcom from the late 1980’s starring Candice Bergen.
You are both thinking of Cleveland “hot” Brown – greatest player the Stoolbend Bulldogs ever had.
Is he thinking of Downtown Julie Brown?
Lou Brown
But Lou, it’s a chance to manager in the big leagues!
I got to go got a guy on the line about some white walls
Dominic Brown was actually the real deal before injuries wiped his prime.
broken leg to start his career , then one good season , then torn hamstring and knee issues.
too bad because he was a top 3 prospect in the bigs and had nothing holding him back aside from untimely injuries
If it’s brown, flush it down.
@sadmarinersfan: Getting signed by any team is a good move for Smith.
Blue Baron you ruined the Brown thing we had going come on.
Maybe start a Smith thing?
@LarsAnderson: But the Brown thing was slightly dumb considering the piece was about Smith! LOL.
I was like who’s Brown!? But now I get it, he meant Ollie Brown. His best year was 1970, but he may have something left in the tank.
Ollie “Downtown” Brown, a Padres teammate of Clarence Gaston, later known as Cito Gaston.
“Downtown Freddie Brown” was a guard on the Seattle SuperSonics.
Pink- Freddie went like 1 for 12 in the first half of one game,but lit it up in the second half going like 14 for 18.
The interviewer asked him why he kept on firing it up after the first half.
Freddie looked at him quizzically,and said,”A shooter shoots!”
Ollie Brown had the best outfield arm I’ve ever seen – RF fence to plate in 2.18 seconds, always accurate
Bob- He May not still be able to hit but he had a rifle for an arm and could probably still throw half the base runners out at home plate.
“Feel Good” story. Oh, wait, that’s James Brown.
Can’t wait until he hits .400 with 7 HR’s against the Mets this year. It’s just bound to happen
That was my first thought.
We can only hope.
Good for him. It just didn’t work out w/ NYM and he was given ample opportunity. 2018-2021. Good man. Wishing him luck
So, Joey to RF and Lane to LF?
Don’t rule out Stone Garrett getting a spot. Could be Joey to DH in that situation
Probably bumps Alex Call off the 40-man?
Or Jake Alu or Jordan Wwems
People who live in Stone Garrett’s house shouldn’t throw glass.
League minimum?
Cool, One less bum for the Cubs to sign. Cmon Jed, You know Mancini is the perfect play here!
Sign Mancini or Hosmer Jed.
And The Sheriff to boost the relief corps.
I signed the Sheriff, but I did not sign the deputy.
You are 2 for 2!
Surprised to see him to go WSH although he will get plenty of playing time. I’d have guessed CHC or KC for Dom.
Cubs are most likely going to sign Hosmer which could be why Smith signed with Washington.
The Royals just traded Ryan O’Hearn to Baltimore because they already had 3 LH 1B/DH types so Smith never made sense for the Royals
It will be interesting to see if he can regain his form. Sometimes getting out from under the spotlight of New York (and their press) is the best thing for a player (see Sonny Gray, for example).
Sonny Gray has been a good pitcher everywhere except The Bronx. Following in the footsteps of Ed Whitson and Carl “American Idle” Pavano.
Which is relevant how?
He can’t hit and he’s bad with the glove. Other than that, his game is just fine.
Hes an elite 1st baseman with the glove.
Awful left fielder and didnt play left until triple a.
@ brightside U obviously don’t know what u talking about.. hes an elite first baseman with the glove and has pop
Pop? Lol. Zero home runs
He meant runs like his Pop…
1B is a power-hitting position. Dom’s fielding is a bit overrated, but yes, he’s a solid glove at 1st. Everyone in the league would sacrifice that glove for a 1B who can actually hit. I hope Dom Smith returns to 2020 form, but it seems that year was the exception, not the norm.
While Smith didn’t hit Home Run at the ML level last season he did have 11 of his 26 hits go for extra bases so there is something to build on there
Definitely. More playing time can help.
Yeah, and it was really two very good years, 2019 and 2020, so I wonder how much of 2021 was the torn labrum, and how much was also an erosion of confidence. Hope he can get it back because he’s an easy guy to root for.
VPH
Smith has had some injuries and some non-physical issues as well.
I think his norm is below 2020 but above the more recent stuff. I think he will be a pleasant surprise. Let Meneses have some competition and may the best player win.
I do think Stone Garrett will earn playing time.
As a Tigers fan, seeing a decent, marginal, slight risk bat go for $2M and we sat on our hands is incredibly frustrating, we don’t have bats that are going to save us in the minors this year. We need people to get on base, this guy can take a walk and has some pop. Why, just why……..
Don’t worry, the Tigers aren’t missing much.
The Tigers have to give Torkelson the chance. He is a #1 overall pick. Maybe he won’t work out, but he won’t become the next Jo Adell, a top prospect that isn’t given a solid chance. Torkelson has a much higher ceiling.
We have a bench thats why open for someone like Smith. When I say we need people, it’s not in jest, if anyone saw Detroits team OPS last year you’d understand there was no positive to draw from. It’s not a knock on our rookies, its the fact that we have no talent around them or people that used to be talented that have since aged out.
Josh Bell is not a free agent.
Josh Bell plays for the Cleveland Guardians. First violin.
As a Nats fan I wasn’t initially excited by this acquisition. But they’re sifting through the discards and discount bin and Dom may well have some upside and offer some veteran leadership to a young team.
@dclivejazz: Don’t hold your breath for him to move any needles. He’s no Daniel Murphy.
Interesting sign. Not strictly a deadline trade guy(although, he could be).
Good signing. Got a feeling that SD will be looking at him in July.
Love this signing. He was one of the Mets that I rooted for and I think he has a real chance to rebound with the Nats, at which point he could be a good deadline move.
Dom has a great chance of being a great teammate.
@dugmet,@NationalNightmare: To paraphrase Casey Stengel, he’s a 27-year-old who has a great chance to be 28 in June.
Belt is going to be nabbed by someone as without the shift I could see belt his .300 but injuries aside he is good for at least 300 ABs
Belt has bad knees, and every GM knows it. This is why he hasn’t been connected with any team this winter. They know he’d sit on their IL most of the year.
I’m guessing Belt isn’t looking to just sign anywhere. At this point in his career, he can afford to be picky, or retire.
Nats have picked up some interesting bounce back candidates in Smith, Jeimer Candelario and Michael Chavis.
I think there’s a chance Candelario and Smith still have something worthwhile to offer.
When was Chavis ever something worth bouncing back to?
2018 Chavis was the Red Sox #2 ranked prospect and the 79th ranked prospect in all of Baseball. In 2019 he put up a .254/.322/.444 with an OPS of .766 and 18 HR’s in 382 PA’s as a rookie. Chavis has struggled but in the right situation there is still potential to be a good player
I think he’ll have a bounceback if he can lock down the 1B job. A lot less wear and tear on the body. Same as I’m expecting a breakout from Andrew Vaughn. Some guys just aren’t built for the OF.
Dom will be a definite asset to the Nationals. Great guy with great potential.
Dom is gonna hit like Babe Ruth vs the Mets. The problem with Dom is that he never got consistent playing time. He needs to play everyday to be good. The Mets kept experimenting with him. Playing Dom once or twice a week was destroying his value. I’d rather have him over Vogelbach. If the Mets were smart, they should have had Smith play first everyday with Alonso DHing. His defense at first is fantastic. Instead, we had Ruf, Vogelbach, and Naquin. Eppler might be the worst GM in the game
His defense is overrated. They gave him ample opportunity. You might be the worst fan in the game.
Lest we forget Downtown Fred Brown, the Sonics sharpshooter who helped Seattle win the NBA title in ‘79. Played his entire career in Seattle.
I prefer Gates Brown, pinch hitter extraordinaire!
You’re thinking of bad bad Leroy Brown
Milwaukee should’ve signed him
Oh yeah Domino’s is opening up in DC
I think Smith can play but wasn’t ever comfortable with his role in NY. It will be interesting to see how he does in Washington.
Hmmmm…Hosmer and Domonic Smith now off the market for some cheap prices and the Marlins have Garrett Cooper and are hoping to convince the Red Sox to trade Tristan Costas to them.
Kim Ng is doing a great job!
We need a john candaleria sighting. Underrated pitcher