The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a one-year contract with first baseman Dominic Smith and designated right-handed pitcher A.J. Alexy for assignment on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.
Smith, 27, hit .246 with a .308 on-base percentage and a .424 slugging percentage in 447 games across six Major League seasons with the New York Mets. He recorded 78 doubles, three triples, 46 home runs, 179 RBI, 95 walks and 147 runs scored in that time fame. Smith hit double-digit home runs in three of his last four seasons.
From 2019 through 2021, Smith slashed .269/.332/.455 while clubbing 51 doubles, one triple, 32 homers and 125 RBI in 284 games. He set or matched career marks in nearly every offensive category in 2021, including home runs (11), runs (43), hits (109), RBI (58), walks (32) and stolen bases (two).
Smith ranked among National League hitters in doubles (2nd, 21), extra-base hits (T2nd, 32), OPS (4th, .993), slugging percentage (4th, .616), RBI (T5th, 42) and batting average (8th, .316) during the 60-game season in 2020.
Smith appeared in 58 Major League games in 2022, hitting .194 with 10 doubles, one triple, 17 RBI, 12 walks and 11 runs scored. He hit .284/.367/.472 with 11 doubles, 10 homers, 38 RBI, 25 walks, four stolen bases and 42 runs scored in 54 games with Triple-A Syracuse.
A native of Los Angeles, Smith was selected in the first round (No. 11 overall) of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Junipero Serra High School.
