The Braves have agreed to a minor league deal with first baseman Dominic Smith, per Chad Bishop of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The Roc Nation client will be a non-roster invitee in big league camp.
A former first-round pick and top prospect, Smith looked to be breaking out in 2019-20, when he slashed a combined .299/.366/.571 with 21 homers in only 396 plate appearances for the Mets. He tried to play through a small tear in his right shoulder’s labrum the following season and saw his numbers unsurprisingly crater. In 2024, Smith suffered a broken hamate bone in his right hand that required surgical repair, and surgeons suggested at the time that he may have had a stress reaction in that hand for several seasons, based on the way things looked in the aftermath of the injury.
From 2021-24, Smith tallied 1538 major league plate appearances but hit only .241/.311/.360 — nowhere close to that 2019-20 peak. Some degree of regression always seemed likely, but a decline so precipitous was nonetheless a bit surprising. Knowing with the benefit of hindsight that Smith was playing through multiple injuries of note help to explain that yearslong dip.
The 2025 season wasn’t back to peak levels, but Smith took 225 plate appearances with the Giants and posted an above-average .284/.333/.417 batting line (111 wRC+). He was heavily shielded from lefties and hit only .200/.259/.280 in 27 plate appearances versus southpaws, but Smith tagged righties at a stout .296/.343/.436 clip. He also posted a respectable .255/.333/.448 line in 45 games with the Yankees’ Triple-A club before landing in San Francisco.
There’s no obvious path to regular playing time in Atlanta for Smith — not with Matt Olson entrenched at first base and a rotation of four veterans to split time between the outfield and designated hitter (Jurickson Profar, Ronald Acuña Jr., Mike Yastrzemski and Michael Harris II). Smith gives Atlanta some depth at first base in the event of an Olson injury, however, and he could step into a more prominent DH role if there’s an injury to any of those four outfielders.
The Braves’ bench is also pretty light on offense, with utilityman Brett Wisely and fourth outfielder Eli White penciled into roles at present due to both being out of minor league options. Smith isn’t your quintessential big lefty bat off the bench, but he’s coming off an above-average season at the plate (particularly against righties) and at least has some minimal experience in left field in addition to his large sample of work at first base.
The Braves only just reacquired Wisely last week (for cash) and as such certainly are not fully committed to giving him a roster spot. White can handle all three outfield positions while Jorge Mateo and Mauricio Dubon (who’ll start at shortstop while Ha-Seong Kim is on the injured list) give the Braves plenty of defensive versatility if they want to carry a more limited lefty bat like Smith on the bench to begin the season.
I’d like to petition that we change WAR to WADS. Wins above Dominic Smith.
The Modern Mendoza.
Yes but does MLB have the NADS to make the change?
Sloth Bear on the move !
Yet another illustration of how little value veteran 1B have. Dom had a 113 OPS+ last year. Can’t get a major league deal and has to settle for a “just get into a camp” arrangement and hope someone has an injury.
He could really only hit righties and his numbers there appear to be inflated by a very high (.343) babip. He’s really a AAAA type player. Seems to have great energy though.
You have to play more than 1B on a four man bench. Everyone has to be able to play multiple positions on that bench now.
After his stay in Boston I became a Dom Smith fan but the truth is he plays only first and provides little power. Thus, he’s always going to have to wait for an injury to happen. He’ll be on a big league roster at some point this season.
Well according to the reports, his time with Boston was hampered by a long standing hand injury so yeah his power was gone there because of it. It’s a non-roster invite so won’t hurt the Braves. If anything it helps as ther depth behind Olson is SCARY now that Ozuna is gone. Need someone to play it.
Looked really good last year for SFG.
Keep in mind, we were used to watching Lamont Wade though…
New Mike Ford
Trade profar for pitching before he becomes a problem, Murphy platoons with smith
This
Am I the only one who thinks it’s weird that he’s wearing a Yankees cap on his BR page?
No? It is Yankees legend Dom Smith that we are talking about here.
I’ve seen players wearing unis on their pages of teams they signed with at some point but never actually took the field for before they either were traded or retired. It’s funny but also definitely weird:)
He signed with the Yankees on a ML deal with an invite to spring training last off-season. It’s probably his most recent picture, due to that. His picture will be updated with an Atlanta hat soon enough.
Braves becoming Giants South. Hope that Yaz, Smith, Dubon and Wisely are all in the lineup when they come visit.
Smith was actually very good last year – had consistently good ABs and played a strong 1B. We had nowhere to play him this year, but he’s also an odd fit in Atlanta and probably won’t stick there either.
Good for Dom to get into camp. I could see him making the opening day roster if Profar and Murphy both start the season on the IL
Can he pitch?