Yankees' latest roster decision might've gifted Pirates a first base solution

The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't splashed or spent this offseason in a manner that their fans believe they should've, but they have typically been able to scrounge together money to fill needs with sturdy alternatives. After Alex Verdugo reportedly rebuffed their $8.5 million offer, they pivoted to Andrew Heaney and Tommy Pham for a similar sum.

In need of an everyday first baseman, they got creative rather than spend ~$10 million on Carlos Santana or Paul Goldschmidt, instead choosing to deal from their pitching surplus to bring in Spencer Horwitz of the Blue Jays (and, briefly, Guardians) and reunite him with Matt Hague.

Of course, it's very Pirates that the best of their offseason additions with the highest upside had surgery to address a chronic wrist issue, and will miss the start of the 2025 season. In need of a bonafide fill-in with first base chops for weeks now, Pittsburgh has trotted out a ridiculous amount of semi-qualified internal options.

We've seen it all, from Nick Yorke's brother mailing him a first base glove, to DJ Stewart, he of the one MLB game at the position, gaining the potential inside track as a non-roster invitee. Now, there's one more potential splash available for the Pirates.

Dominic Smith, while not known for his glove, has been a roughly league-average MLB hitter at the position (as a lefty) in recent years, posting a 96 OPS+ for the 2024 Red Sox and a 97 OPS+ in his career. Smith had an opt-out on the horizon Friday, which he could've used to give the Yankees 24 hours to decide on a retention decision.

The Yankees made their choice abundantly clear, scratching Smith from the lineup on Friday and allowing him to test the market.

Pirates could sign former Yankees (and Mets, Red Sox) first baseman Dominic Smith after opt-out decision

At the very least, Smith is an opt-out the Pirates should pay more attention to than Rowdy Tellez in Seattle, who's also looming.

He's had a representative big-league tenure, and is coming off a strong spring in which he hit .297 with three homers and 12 RBI at Yankees camp.

Everyone knows by now that getting fooled by spring training statistics is a short-sighted mistake. Still, the Pirates aren't looking for much here. They just need an upgrade on several players scrambling to learn new positions while Horwitz recovers. Smith, who understands the assignment and is actively seeking an opportunity, would represent just that.