September 4: Smith has been outrighted to Triple-A Louisville, according to his transactions tracker at MLB.com. He has the right to elect free agency though it’s not yet clear if he has chosen to do so.
September 2: The Reds announced that they have recalled outfielder Blake Dunn from Triple-A Louisville. In a corresponding move, first baseman Dominic Smith has been designated for assignment. The club’s 40-man roster count drops to 39.
Smith, 29, was with the Reds for just over a week. He signed with them on August 22 and has since taken 29 plate appearances over nine games, hitting just .192/.276/.269 in that time. That’s obviously not great production but it’s also not a meaningful sample size to draw conclusions from.
The fact that Smith is now being bumped from the roster might say more about the team than about him. The Reds were 5.5 games back of a playoff spot when Smith was signed but they have since fallen to 9.5 games back. With their playoff hopes now essentially dashed, there’s little use for an impending free agent like Smith, especially one with no real defensive versatility. They can instead use their remaining games to give playing time to players trying to earn roles on next year’s club, such as Dunn.
Smith has more than enough service time to reject an outright assignment, so he will likely be a free agent in the coming days, either by a release or by him exercising his right to opt for the open market. Prior to his disappointing stint in Cincinnati, he had a better run in Boston. In 84 games for the Red Sox, he hit .237/.317/.390 for a wRC+ of 96, indicating he was 4% below league average.
He could perhaps try to latch on somewhere else for the remainder of the season, though he won’t be postseason eligible with a new club as it’s now after the September 1 cut-off date. Clubs out of contention like the Reds would probably prefer to give playing time to controllable players. Smith had a strong run in 2019-20, hitting .299/.366/.571 over those two seasons, but it’s been a rough ride side since then. In over 1,500 trips to the plate from 2021 to the present, he’s hit .241/.311/.360 for a wRC+ of 86.
Royals placing the waiver claim at this moment
Or waiting for him to pass through waivers
Well I think part of the reason they made all those claims on the day they did was so they can use those players during the playoffs. Now with a surplus of veterans and Smith being designated with exactly 0.0 WAR to his name, I can’t see him being claimed
Sigh. They just trade for Gurriel. Try harder, hack.
Is it a little crappy for the Reds to do this 2 days after the playoff-eligibility date for waiver claims? Or just one of those things?
Not really. Dom Smith probably cherishes any opportunity to play to prove himself worthy of a MLB contract next season.
I kind of feel somewhat the same. It’s not exactly like their playoff fortunes took such a nose dive on just the last couple days.
Still, it’s not like Dom wasn’t having a mini-slump either, he knew the risks of signing onto a bubble team.
It’s just the randomness of MLB that Dom Smith happened to have already taken an opportunity with the Reds, when a potentially better opportunity opened up with the Royals. That’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes in the real world.
He’d be lucky to have job
Hopefully it’s just that the Reds had put Smith on waivers last week and no team put in a claim. Otherwise it does seem pretty crappy.
Also pretty crappy: Smith’s performance since 2021. The Nats gave him a full trial in 2023. He can only play 1B, but he can’t hit like a first baseman should. And actually, his glovework did not match his supposed reputation. It might be the end of the road for Dom.
Will follow imagine this article with a large amount of posters who just can’t figure out how a defensively chaalenged 1b, with little power (in game) can be let go by a team like this.. It’s just not done to this poor soul.
Mr Smith always has a smile on his face, strikeout, walk, regardless. hence, he should always have a mlb job regardless is how have interpreted it from the fawning media hype he started getting from May onward and -0- reasons otherwise.
Dom Smith can’t hit but plays a decent defensive 1b. Teams are always looking for some pop at his position, so Dom is always going to be a very short term solution unless he learns how to hit. If he has literally zero talent or skill, as you suggest, then how in the heck has he amassed 2000+ ABs in the Major Leagues?
Mr. Smith needs to sign with the Nationals just so we can get the obvious headline.
Jimmy Stewart was a treasure.
Probably were a few of those headlines last year when they signed him as their starting 1B.
Do you watch baseball?
Jimmy Stewart the Reds infielder from the 70s? He was a capable fill-in. Nice kid. But ‘treasure’ is a bit over the top.
Now that was funny.
Were you not following baseball in ’23?? Been there, done that.
He won’t be the last one. They did the same thing last year.
Dom’s numbers weren’t much, though he did hit the ball hard more than a few times; unfortunately the liners were caught…
.246 career with 64 HRs. He’ll give you a good night’s effort and come up with a key hit now and then, but he isn’t Willie McCovey.
Let – He isn’t even Willie Harris!
9 rough games with the Reds for Dom. Not sure if there will be anymore opportunities this season…
If they were expecting from Smith to be a player to help in their playoff aspirations, FO should go back to baseball 101.
Rosario is the one they should try to keep for next year. Steady veteran player who can actually hit.
If they didn’t keep Donnie Barrels, they won’t keep Rosario.
huge bust
His eyes are up here pal
If anyone ever tries to tell you that the 2020 season was legitimate, just point out that Dominic Smith was 13th in MVP voting in the National League that year. That should end all discussion of the legitimacy of the pandemic year.
2019 and 2020 stats should just be ignored. The 2020 playoffs were very interesting and do seem close to reality to me but after watching NBA and WNBA in season tournaments that is what 2020 looks like to me now. But I am so glad it happened as we needed a distraction at that time so badly
Nothing wrong with 2019 stats. That was a real season not played in front of cardboard people.
I agree about the needed distraction, but looking back I just wish it was cancelled for the good of the sport
Dunn may have been exposed in his AB on Sunday.
He saw 8 fastballs and was severely late on every one that he took a cut at (foul balls opposite way). Also watched a fastball down the absolute middle for called strike three.
Johnny Bench’s Rule 1 for batters – you have to be able to hit the fastball…
Smith is not an MLB caliber player.
Dom needs to find another full-time job this winter, unless he enjoys playing in AAA.. Or maybe he did a good jo investing the $10m he’s made and won’t have to work.