Yankees Could Scoop Up Recently DFA'd Red Sox Veteran In Rivalry Power Move

The evil empire has a positional need for a player Boston just let go

Jim McIsaac / Getty Images Sport via Getty Images

One of the whackiest things about the Boston Red Sox-New York Yankees rivalry is that they’ve shared so many of the same players.

Alex Verdugo is a recent example. Now it appears 29-year-old first baseman Dominic Smith could be another one.

The Yankees have a need at first base given the horrendous slump that rookie Ben Rice has been in since the All-Star break. With Boston designating Smith for assignment on Friday to make way for Triston Casas, the Yankees could have just stumbled upon a perfect acquisition.

Smith started his career in New York playing for the Mets for five seasons; he’s no stranger to the pressures of playing in the Big Apple, as if the aura of Fenway Park would not have prepared him regardless.

Smith is a savvy hitter with a penchant for the big moment, something the Yankees will need as they look to contend for a World Series. 

From the Red Sox perspective, it sure would have been nice to keep Smith around. He’s a strong presence in the clubhouse (valuable for a young roster such as Boston’s), and he’s even had stretches of hot hitting where it looked like Cora was going to have a difficult decision to make when Casas returned to full health. 

The Casas-for-Smith swap is based on talent alone, the metric by which most roster decisions are made in Major League Baseball. With Boston struggling to break through in a rugged Wild Card race, the Red Sox are banking on Casas being the best version of himself right away and injecting the lineup with a level of hitting that Smith can’t reach.

On the other hand, it’s easy to imagine Casas struggling out of the gate and never really getting into a rhythm over the next 40-plus games (a short timeframe within which to ramp up to playoff performance), leaving manager Alex Cora wishing he still had Smith as an alternative.

Boston is taking a risk by letting Smith go, and it will be a sorry sight for the Red Sox if Smith ends up contributing to fall baseball wearing pinstripes.

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