Yankees watch Dom Smith opt out of deal with seemingly no room left for spring star

The New York Yankees haven't had the easiest of springs, considering all of the injuries the team had to deal with. After all, they lost Gerrit Cole for the season, Luis Gil for a significant number of weeks, and D.J. LeMahieu for a bit as he deals with a calf injury. But the status of Giancarlo Stanton is significant, considering he has stepped up every time the team reached the postseason. But with torn tendons in both of his elbows, it's unknown when Stanton will return.

In spring training, the Yankees had the chance to find some replacement designated hitter options for Stanton. One name that stood out was former New York Mets and Boston Red Sox infielder Dom Smith. This spring, Smith recorded a .297 batting average, a .857 OPS, three home runs and 12 RBI in 13 games. But since Smith signed a non-roster invitee (NRI) contract, he had the chance to opt out of his deal if he wasn't added to the Yankees' 40-man roster by Friday, March 21.

FanSided's own MLB insider Robert Murray was first to report that Smith officially opted out of his contract with the Yankees, setting him up for free agency.

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Yankees face tough Dom Smith decision after opt-out

Having a player hit near .300 and knock in 12 runs in 37 spring training at-bats? That player would be a roster-lock for Opening Day. The problem is, Smith is a left-handed hitter, which the Yankees have an abundance of.

The Yankees have let it be known throughout the spring, especially after the Stanton injury, that they need a right-handed bat and would like to add one before the start of the season. Besides Stanton, only Aaron Judge, Paul Goldschmidt, and Anthony Volpe are right-handed hitters. Other starters like Austin Wells, Jazz Chisholm, Oswaldo Cabrera, Jasson Dominguez, and Cody Bellinger either bat left-handed or are switch hitters.

What did hurt Smith's case is the play of Ben Rice and J.C. Escarra, who have both had strong springs and made cases to split time as DH with Stanton injured. What do Rice and Escarra have in common? They also bat left-handed. Rice is slashing .260/.339/.560 while recording five home runs, nine RBI, and 13 hits in 16 games this spring (50 at-bats). Meanwhile, Escarra recorded a .333 batting average, a .953 OPS, three home runs, seven RBI, and 15 hits in 45 at-bats (16 games).

Considering that, there's really no room left for Smith, even as a bench option. So, he opted out. As Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News points out, the Yankees have 24 hours to add Smith back to the roster. Even so, Phillips says the Yankees still need a right-handed bat.

Smith showed in his short stint with the Yankees that he can still provide production at the plate. Now, it's a matter of which teams will be interested in adding him before Opening Day.