Veteran 1B opting out of deal with Cubs

First baseman Dominic Smith is opting out of his minor league cope with the Cubs, experiences Jesse Rogers of ESPN.

Smith, 29 in June, is primarily a primary baseman. The Mets moved him to left subject for some time since Pete Alonso took maintain of the primary base job, however Smith graded poorly on the market and ultimately moved again to first base with the Nationals final 12 months.

The Cubs are seemingly going to offer plenty of run to Michael Busch at first base this 12 months, after buying him from the Dodgers in an offseason commerce. In addition they re-signed Cody Bellinger after Smith signed his minor league pact, additional crowding the trail to enjoying time. Bellinger will seemingly be within the outfield however it’s attainable that he winds up at first if Busch falters or if Pete Crow-Armstrong forces his manner into the middle subject job.

Provided that scenario, it is smart that Smith would search for alternatives elsewhere. He’s been in nice type this spring, having hit .346/.370/.538 up to now, which may maybe assist him market himself to different golf equipment.

He’s coming off an uninspiring season, his first outdoors of Queens. He hit simply .254/.326/.366 for the Nationals, resulting in a wRC+ of 90, his third straight subpar marketing campaign. golf equipment can be hoping that he can get again to his 2019-20 type, when he hit .299/.366/.571 for a wRC+ of 150.

There may be loads of roster churn occurring round baseball as we speak, with a number of cuts being made and veterans opting out. A sport of musical chairs will play out within the coming days as guys search for new golf equipment and Smith will see if he can wind up someplace with a good path to enjoying time.