The New York Yankees have re-signed first baseman Dominic Smith to a minor league deal, the team announced on Monday.

Smith was with the Yankees during spring training, where he hit .297 with three home runs over 13 games. He opted out of his contract when he failed to make the Opening Day roster.

Smith came to the Yankees this offseason after splitting time last year between the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Red Sox. He hit .233 with six homers and 34 RBI in 93 games.

Now approaching his 30th birthday, Smith's career hasn't panned out the way it once appeared it might. He spent his first six seasons with the New York Mets, seemingly breaking out in the COVID-shortened 2020 season. Smith played 50 of the Mets' 60 regular season games and hit for a .993 OPS, finishing 13th in MVP voting. It was enough to make him a regular the next season, but his numbers cratered during a full year. His OPS dropped to .667, and he hit only one more home run (11) in 145 games than he did during the COVID season.

Smith's frustrations mounted the next year as he spent this time either on the bench in New York or in the Mets' minor league system. He signed with the Washington Nationals after that, but after an underwhelming season, he was non-tendered.

Dominic Smith impressed the Yankees at spring training

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When New York announced that Smith would not break camp with the team, manager Aaron Boone kept the possibility of a reunion open.

“He came in and has done everything he's needed to do,” Boone said, per ESPN. “I think clearly he's a big league player. He's been great in the room. He's performed. I feel like he's in really good shape. So we'll see what happens.”

Smith proved to be versatile during Grapefruit League play, manning first base and left field for the Yankees while also seeing time at DH.

There was simply no space on the roster for the Yankees to carry another left-handed bat. Now that he's back in the Yankees' system, the team can keep him at Triple-A Scranton as injury insurance for some of their aging veterans, like new first baseman Paul Goldschmidt.

Goldschmidt, like most of the Yankees, is off to a scorching start to 2025. He went 5-12 over the team's first three games with a home run but is 37 years old and coming off of arguably the worst season of his career (98 OPS+).