The New York Yankees are bringing Kevin Smith home

Taking a note out of the playbook of Shohei Ohtani, it appears as though Kevin Smith has announced his own signing this off-season, posting this picture of himself as a kid in a New York Yankees hat and jersey with the caption “Headed Home for 2024.” The Oakland A’s had non-tendered Smith following the 2023 season.

Headed Home for 2024 | @Yankees pic.twitter.com/dr6H9Il43s

— Kev (@KJS_4) January 8, 2024

Smith was born in East Greenbush, New York and was originally selected by the Toronto Blue Jays in the fourth round of the 2017 Draft. He came to Oakland as part of the trade with the Blue Jays for Matt Chapman.

In his two seasons with the A’s, he hit a combined .182 with a .218 OBP and seven home runs in 96 games. Smith hasn’t received consistent big-league playing time and has split time between shortstop, his natural position, and third base. In just 312 innings at third in 2022, he put up 3 Outs Above Average, and in 93 innings at the hot corner in 2023, he collected one more. He can play the position very well.

While the Major League numbers haven’t quite been there offensively for Smith to date, he has absolutely crushed the minors. Starting in September 2022 when he hit .365 with a .405 OBP and 11 home runs, he went on to hit .324 with a .372 OBP and 16 bombs in Triple-A last season in 42 games.

So far in the Majors, he has struggled to hit fastballs, and pitchers have been throwing him around 55% heaters the past two seasons. He hit just .136 against them last season with a .164 expected batting average. The Yankees have done a good job at developing players over the years, and Smith has the talent to make an impact with New York.

Now entering his age 27 season, he may just need an opportunity. As the Yankees roster currently stands, there may not be room for consistent playing time for him, but if he keeps plugging away, one could arise over the course of the season.