Cincinnati Reds Announce Signing of Former First-Round First Baseman

The playoff push for the Cincinnati Reds is full swing with a softer run in the schedule. ESPN 's Jeff Passan broke the news that former first-round pick 1B/LF Dominic Smith to a Major League deal, pending a physical.

Smith was a first-round pick of the New York Mets in 2013 and made his debut on August 11, 2017. In his first two seasons, he was a part-timer and played in just 105 games.

In 2019, he took a step, slashing .282/.355/.525 with an OPS+ of 132 in just 89 games. He became a full-time player the following season and played in 50 (of 60) games for the Mets and put up a career-best slash line of .316/.377/.616 and an OPS+ of 168.

In the four seasons since, he has not gotten back to over 95 OPS+, indicating he's a below-average hitter.

He spent six years with the Mets and finished with a line of .246/.308/.424 with an OPS+ of 99. He was granted free agency and signed with the Washington Nationals. Smith was a full-time starter for the Nationals, appearing in 153 games and hit a career-best 134 hits, 34 of which were extra-base hits.

Smith hit free agency again and bounced around a few teams before landing with the Boston Red Sox for the 2024 season. He appeared in 83 games and was hitting .237/.317/.390 before being released on August 20.

For his career, Smith has hit .247/.314/.314 with 64 home runs and 259 RBI.

The Reds could use another left-handed bat and Smith has an OPS+ of 102 against right-handed pitching and a wRC+ of 97 in his career, overall.

His batting average and on-base percentage is actually a few points higher against left-handed pitching, indicating that he could be an everyday player if need be.

Naturally, this signing is to provide a little depth for the Reds over the course of the remainder of the season. Hopefully, this doesn't mean they've gotten bad news about one of their infielders on the IL and felt compelled to add to the roster.