LAKELAND, Fla. — Dom Smith, who had an excellent spring training with the Yankees, opted out of his minor-league contract on Friday.
The former Mets first baseman “clearly [is] a big-league player,” manager Aaron Boone said before the Yankees played the Tigers on Friday night.
The problem for Smith making the Yankees’ Opening Day roster was his handedness. Smith bats lefthanded, and the Yankees have plenty of lefthanded hitters in their lineup and on their projected bench.
That doesn’t mean Smith’s days in the organization are necessarily over. The team and player still can negotiate to keep him with the Yankees if he is willing to start the season in Triple-A.
“I don’t know,” Boone said. “We’ll see what happens. I think there’s a window of time now to do something. So let’s see what happens.”
Smith, 29, hit .297 with three home runs, 12 RBIs and an .857 OPS in 13 spring training games.
“He came in and he’s done everything he needed to do,” Boone said. “He’s been great in the room. He performed. Feel like he’s in really good shape. So we’ll see what happens.”
What probably is going to happen before Thursday’s season opener at Yankee Stadium is the Yankees are going to try to add a righthanded hitter for the bench.
At this point, it appears as if Ben Rice is going to be the lefty designated hitter, with catcher J.C. Escarra and outfielder Trent Grisham as near-locks for backup spots. Infielder Oswald Peraza is out of options and could be the main reserve infielder, especially if switch hitter Oswaldo Cabrera starts at third base against righties.
That leaves one more roster spot. It could end up going to Pablo Reyes, a righthanded-hitting infielder/outfielder who appeared in one game for the Mets in 2024. Reyes, 31, is a career .248 hitter in 521 big-league at-bats, but he’s having a nice spring training (.324, one home run, .896 OPS).
Or the Yankees could look to acquire a more experienced major-leaguer, such as they did before last season’s opener when they traded for Jon Berti.
One name to keep in mind is infielder/outfielder Garrett Hampson, who opted out of his contract with Arizona on Friday. Hampson, 30, is a career .240 hitter in seven seasons, mostly with Colorado. But he’s the type of player the Yankees may be looking for: a versatile, inexpensive righthanded hitter.
Goldie says he’s a lock
Paul Goldschmidt, who has been out with a sore back, is expected to return on Saturday and play three of the Yankees’ final four spring training games. Goldschmidt said he is “100%” certain he’ll be ready for Opening Day.
“The back is basically 100% or very, very close to it,” Goldschmidt said.
The Yankees will finish the Tampa portion of spring training with games Saturday and Sunday before heading across the state to visit the Mets in Port St. Lucie on Monday and the Marlins at Miami’s big-league stadium on Tuesday.
Rodon sharp
Opening Day starter Carlos Rodon threw 4 2/3 shutout innings against the Tigers on Friday night in his final tuneup. Rodon (77 pitches) allowed three hits, walked three and struck out five.
Austin Wells led off the game with a home run and added a three-run shot in the seventh. He has five homers in spring training.
Anthony Rieber covers baseball, as well as the NFL, NBA and NHL. He has worked at Newsday since Aug. 31, 1998, and has been in his current position since July 5, 2004.
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