Former Washington Nationals Slugger DFA’d by Cincinnati Reds
Former Washington Nationals first baseman Dominic Smith has been around the MLB quite a bit during his career. Making his debut in 2017 for the New York Mets, he's appeared in the big leagues with four different teams.
Smith has spent time with the Mets, Nationals, Cincinnati Reds, and Boston Red Sox in a regular season game. He played in 84 games this year for the Red Sox, but was recently DFA'd.
He then signed a deal with the Reds before being designated for assignment again, as Cincinnati announced the decision on Monday afternoon.
The move doesn't come as a surprise, given the struggles he faced in the 26 at-bats he had with the Reds. Smith slashed .192/.276/.269 with 11 strikeouts in that span.
And since Cincinnati is essentially out of the playoff race, there isn't much use for him on their roster. Because it's past Sept. 1, he won't be postseason-eligible if he finds a deal with a new club.
His career has taken a hit over the past year, but he didn't play poorly for Washington.
In 153 games and 527 at-bats, the left-handed hitter slashed .254/.326/.366 with a 93 OPS+. He finished that season with 12 home runs and 46 RBI.
Only 29 years old, he'll likely be seeking opportunities in Major League Baseball over the next few weeks. If he doesn't latch on somewhere by then, he'll have to wait until the winter to find a new home.
With a somewhat decent resume outside of the last year, he should be able to find a landing spot.
JON CONAHAN