Boston Red Sox fans, like anyone else, hate watching their ex-players thrive elsewhere. It's what's made the successes of Chris Sale and Mookie Betts in recent years so painful. But post-Red Sox success isn't just reserved for Cy Youngs and MVPs. It's also an experience that utilitymen/glue guys get to enjoy, apparently.
Just look at the year that former Red Sox cult figure Dominic Smith is having with the Atlanta Braves (Smith signed a minor league deal with Atlanta in February that led to a split major league deal). Since debuting for the Braves on March 28 with a walk-off grand slam (so Dom Smith of him), Smith has played the best baseball of his life in a Braves uniform. He's hitting .343 with a .916 OPS, five home runs, and 22 RBI in 102 at-bats (40 games) this year. Not too shabby for a career .254 hitter.
Red Sox fans can't be too surprised at Smith's excellence so far in 2026, even if they wish he were doing it in a Red Sox uniform. He was always a clutch performer for Boston during his 2024 season, in which Smith was a more than worthy stand-in for the injured Triston Casas at first base.
Dom Smith's raging success with the Braves has Red Sox fans stunned (well, not really)
The Red Sox can always rely on Dom Smith to come thru pic.twitter.com/htGhSYQpoE
— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) July 23, 2024
Smith slashed .237/.317/.390 with 34 RBI over 84 games for the Sox in '24. He played multiple positions with aplomb and even pitched in a game when Boston's bullpen was extinguished.
Released in August 2024 by the Red Sox (much to the chagrin of Boston fans), Smith bounced around between the Cincinnati Reds, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants before landing his current gig with Atlanta.
You could tell how beloved Smith was by Red Sox fans when he signed a minor league deal with the Yankees — there were nearly riots in the streets of Boston. What's worse, when the Yankees moved on from Smith, there was a chance for the Red Sox to reunite with their folk hero, but it never happened. Now he's providing pop at the plate for the best team in baseball — the kind of production that Boston's awful offense could sorely use right about now.
Mickey Gasper is the new Dom Smith for the Red Sox
In a way, Gasper has replaced Smith as the everyman that every fan loves to root for (not to mention the tangible plate production). We'll see if the Red Sox are as careless with Gasper's value as they were with Smith's. From what we've seen from chief baseball officer Craig Breslow, it might not be long before Gasper is traded in a deal to acquire pitching assets that will soon after be traded in another deal.
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