Former Mets’ Promising Slugger Signs Minors Deal With Yankees

A former top New York Mets prospect has signed a minor league deal with the team’s cross-town rivals in the Bronx.
Jul 21, 2021; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New York Mets left fielder Dominic Smith (2) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-Imagn Images
Jul 21, 2021; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; New York Mets left fielder Dominic Smith (2) celebrates in the dugout after hitting a grand slam home run against the Cincinnati Reds in the third inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: David Kohl-Imagn Images / David Kohl-Imagn Images

A familiar name for New York Mets fans has returned to the Big Apple, but this time he will be donning pinstripes in the Bronx.

On Monday, it was announced that former highly-touted prospect Dominic Smith has agreed to a minor league deal with the New York Yankees. Smith, 29, was the Mets' first-round draft pick (11th overall) in the 2013 MLB June Amateur Draft, but ultimately failed to live up to his billing.

Making his MLB debut in 2017, Smith played six seasons with the Mets, appearing in 447 games and slashing .246/.308/.424 with 46 home runs; originally expected to be the Mets' first baseman of the future, the emergence of Pete Alonso in 2019 led to Smith splitting time between first and left field. His best season came in the 2020 COVID-shortened season, when he broke out by hitting .316/.377/.616 with 10 home runs in 50 games. It was a small sample size, but Smith finished 13th in the NL MVP voting that year.

Unfortunately, Smith was unable to continue his success from 2020. Over the next two seasons, he played in 203 games and only hit .233/.298/.345 while amounting to -1.3 fWAR; in 2022, Smith only played in 58 games, failing to hit a home run and being demoted to Triple-A Syracuse twice.

Smith departed the Mets in the ensuing offseason and signed a one-year deal with the Washington Nationals. He went on to play 153 games with the Nationals and hit .254/.326/.366 with 12 home runs, but was non-tendered after the 2023 season concluded.

In 2024, after signing and opting out of minor league deals with the Chicago Cubs and Tampa Bay Rays, Smith signed another one-year contract with the Boston Red Sox but only lasted 84 games before being released by the team on August 20. He signed with the Cincinnati Reds two days later, and remained with them for the rest of the season. Overall, Smith slashed .233/.313/.378 with six home runs last season.

Smith now joins a deep Yankees roster that recently signed former MVP Paul Goldschmidt to a one-year deal. Behind Goldschmidt, the Yankees also traded for another former MVP in Cody Bellinger, while also having prospect Ben Rice and veterans DJ LeMahieu and Oswaldo Cabrera as potential first base options. Given the depth at his position, Smith will likely start the season in the minors if he makes it through the team’s training camp this spring.

The Mets themselves are looking to solidify first base by signing Alonso, who had usurped Smith as the franchise's principal first baseman, to a new contract.


Published
Michael Sakuraba
MICHAEL SAKURABA

Mike Sakuraba is a contributing writer for the Yankees and Mets On SI sites. He has previously written for Betcris, Rotocurve, and TimTurkhockey.com.