Kevin

Smith

Smith briefly became a free agent after rejecting a minor league assignment, but after a quick look at the market, he’s opted to return to the Yankees. He appeared in two games with the Yankees but received no at-bats during a brief stint with the team over the weekend.

Smith has opted to explore his options in the free agent pool after refusing an outright minor league assignment from New York. The 27-year-old infielder got into a pair of contests for the Yankees, but didn’t end up receiving a plate appearance.

With Jon Berti (calf) heading to the injured list, Smith will provide infield depth for the Bombers for at least the remainder of the weekend until DJ LeMahieu is ready to return from the injured list. Smith, 27, has hit just .173/.215/.301 with eight homers and 25 RBI over 333 plate appearances in his career at the big league level. He can continue to be ignored for fantasy purposes.

The versatile 27-year-old infielder had been designated for assignment earlier in the week, but he passed through waivers unclaimed and will continue to function as extra depth for the Bombers at the Triple-A level. Smith appeared in just one game during his time with the Yankees and didn’t get a plate appearance.

Smith has been removed from New York’s 40-man roster to make room for recently-added Taylor Trammell just a few days after joining the Yankees’ active roster to replace the injured Jon Berti. The 27-year-old infielder spent the past two seasons with Oakland where he slashed .182/.218/.314 across 297 plate appearances.

Smith has been added to New York’s bench to replace an injured Jon Berti. The 27-year-old infielder signed a minor league contract with the Yankees back in January after being non-tendered last November by the Athletics.

Peraza entered last year’s spring training as the favorite to win the Yankees starting shortstop job but lost out to Anthony Volpe, who had a tremendous spring. Since then, Peraza shifted to playing third base, where he certainly has the arm to stick, but the bat has not been consistent in the majors so far. Something Aaron Boone mentioned. “He has ability and the tools to do it. It’s that last step that can be challenging. Triple A is one thing. Doing it on a consistent basis at the big leagues is another layer.” Boone mentioned that Peraza was battling with Oswaldo Cabrera, Kevin Smith, Jeter Downs, Jorbit Vivas, and Josh VanMeter for the final infield spot on the Opening Day roster.

The 27-year-old infielder was non-tendered by the Athletics in November after slashing a horrendous .185/.220/.326 with five homers, 11 RBI and one swipe in 146 plate appearances at the big league level in 2023. He’ll add infield depth for the Bombers.

It qualifies as a slight surprise to see Smith exiting Oakland already since he was arguably the centerpiece of the Matt Chapman trade with the Blue Jays less than two years ago. The 27-year-old infielder holds a lackluster .173/.215/.301 triple-slash line with eight homers and five steals across 333 plate appearances in the majors since 2021.

Smith heads back to the minors with JJ Bleday coming back from a stint on the injured list. The 27-year-old former top prospect has posted a lackluster .546 OPS with five homers and one steal in 146 plate appearances over 49 games this season in the big leagues.