Fastball

Tampa Bay Rays Come to Terms with Former Mets, Nationals Slugger

After recently opting out of a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs, veteran slugger Dominic Smith has signed a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Brady Farkas

Dom Smith, is shown at bat against the Astros, Saturday, March 2, 2019. Mets Spring Training
Dom Smith, is shown at bat against the Astros, Saturday, March 2, 2019. Mets Spring Training / Kevin R. Wexler/NorthJersey.com
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After recently opting out of a minor league deal with the Chicago Cubs, veteran slugger Dominic Smith has agreed to a minor league deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.

Robert Murray of Fansided had the update on social media:

Free-agent first baseman Dom Smith and the Tampa Bay Rays are in agreement on a minor-league contract, according to a source familiar with the deal. Smith recently opted out of a contract with the Chicago Cubs.

The 28-year-old Smith is a seven-year veteran who has played for the New York Mets and Washington Nationals. He started 154 games for Washington in 2023 and hit .254 with 12 home runs. Lifetime, he's a .248 hitter with 58 homers and 225 RBI. In addition to seeing a lot of time last year, he was a regular for the Mets in 2021 (playing 145 games). He also played 50 out of a possible 60 games in the COVID 2020 season.

By nature of the deal, there's no guarantee that Smith gets the call to the big league club in Tampa Bay, but if he does, he'll join a team with playoff aspirations. The Rays won 99 games a season ago and finished second in the American League East. They ultimately advanced to the AL wild card round where they were swept by the Texas Rangers in two games.

Currently at 1-1 on the young season, the Rays will take on the Toronto Blue Jays on Saturday afteroon. First pitch is scheduled for 4:10 p.m. ET as Yusei Kikuchi (TOR) goes up against Zack Littell (TBR).

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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