Jake

Smolinski

Smolinski has agreed to a deal with the NC Dinos of the Korea Baseball Organization. The 30-year-old outfielder was batting .270/.360/.502 with 12 home runs and nine stolen bases through 67 games this season at Triple-A Durham. He last appeared in a major league game in June 2018 with the Athletics.

Sung Min Kim and the ALPB News Twitter accounts are both reporting the development, so it sounds like it has a good chance of going down. Smolinski, 30, has hit .270/.360/.504 with 12 homers and nine steals over 67 games this year with the Rays’ Triple-A affiliate. He appeared in 19 games last season with Oakland.

The oft-injured Smolinski is hitting .292/.346/.583 in 24 at-bats. He’s still going to have a difficult time winning a spot in the Rays outfield, but he deserves some luck after missing so much time the last few years.

Smolinski missed a large portion of the 2018 season with a blood clot in his left leg and was outrighted off the Athletics’ 40-man roster in October. The 29-year-old outfielder is a .235/.299/.363 career hitter in the major leagues.

Smolinski struggled during his brief time in the majors this season and missed a significant chunk of time with a blood clot in his leg.

Smolinski was the 70th overall pick in the 2007 MLB Amateur Draft but just reached the Triple-A level this season. The 24-year-old will function as organizational depth for the Rangers. He was drafted as a middle infielder but now plays exclusively in the outfield.

It’s a second straight game that he’s missed due to a sore back. Reddick is considered day-to-day. Jake Smolinski is in right field Sunday.

He’s just getting a breather. Danny Valencia is also sitting out, as the A’s are going with Arismendy Alcantara at shortstop, Yonder Alonso at first base, Khris Davis in the designated hitter spot, Jake Smolinski in center field and Coco Crisp in left.

Crisp was scratched Sunday due to neck soreness and the A’s don’t want to take any chances given his history. Consider him day-to-day. Jake Smolinski will start in center field and bat second.

He went 2-for-4 in the game, boosting his line to .324/.375/.528 with six bombs in 108 at-bats. He is obviously deserving of more playing time but will not be fantasy-worthy until he gets it.