Cubs Sign 1B Dominic Smith to Minors Deal

You can’t throw a rock in Mesa without hitting a fringey post-prime big leaguer the Cubs have signed to a minor league deal. Shortly after the reports that they had brought David Peralta in as a non-roster invitee comes news that they’ve inked a similar deal with former Met and National Dominic Smith. The 29-year-old (in June) first baseman is a lefty batter whose pop has never lived up to his 55-grade raw power rating.

Smith hit 12 homers in 586 plate appearances for Washington last year and ended up with a .112 ISO, the second-lowest of his career. For context, .166 was the MLB average ISO last season. On the flipside, Smith’s 15.5% strikeout rate was easily the lowest of his career.

Joel Sherman reported that the deal will have a $1.75 million base salary if Smith earns a roster spot and it can reportedly double with incentives. Pretty funny that this comes the same day Tom Ricketts praised Jed Hoyer’s offseason and said he believes the Cubs have spent enough money to be clear favorites in the NL Central. Based on their other options, I’ll be both surprised and disappointed if Smith ends up breaking camp with the team.

Then again, making the initial 26-man roster will mean he’s had a tremendous spring and may have finally tapped into that power.