Veteran Infielder Joins Braves in Spring Training as Non-Roster Invite

The Atlanta Braves expand their big league camp with the addition of a familiar face in the National League East. They announced Tuesday morning that they have added infielder Dominic Smith as a non-roster invitee.

Since he is in camp under this label, it's clear that he signed to a minor-league contract. The number of players currently in major league camp is now up to 66.

He is the second player to join the group since they initially announced the spring training roster. Catcher Jonah Heim signed on via a major league contract on the first day of spring training.

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He's most known for his time with the Mets that lasted from 2017 to 2022. He received MVP votes during the 2020 season. Since then, he's bounced around to the Nationals, Red Sox, Red and Giants at the major league level. Part of last season was spent with the Yankees' Triple-A affiliate in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, and he was briefly in the Rays system the year before.

Smith is coming off his stint with the Giants last season, where he appeared in 63 games last season, primarily at first base. He's also been used as a starting left fielder during his career. Apart from 39 games at designated hitter and two games in right field, those are the two positions he has played in the major leagues.

Assuming he makes it to the end of spring training with the team, he would be a vertan depth option in the system. It doesn't hurt to have. It's why they've added more options for the shortstop position and bullpen over the past couple of months beyond the primary additions.

If an outfielder gets hurt, we're not putting that voodoo on Matt Olson, he is someone who could jump in. They could also rotate him as an option in left field if it really came down to it.

He provides a solid enough of a bat when he gets into action. Last season, he batted .284 with a .750 OPS and finished with a 114 OPS+. Granted, these are a bit above his career stats, but it provides some recent goodwill for what he could contribute.

Naturally, he could also play first base for Triple-A Gwinnett. His numbers in Triple-A were pretty similar to what we've seen in the majors, so he would improve the overall quality of the roster.

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