The Diamondbacks announced that first baseman Pavin Smith has cleared waivers and been sent outright to Triple-A Reno. The Snakes designated Smith for assignment last week.
Smith has the right to elect free agency but isn’t likely to do so. Players with at least three years of service time have the right to reject outright assignments in favor of the open market. But if they have less than five years of service, they have to forfeit their remaining salary commitments in exercising that right. Smith is in that three-to-five window and is making $2.25MM this year. That leaves about $900K still to be paid out. Assuming he doesn’t want to leave that on the table, Smith will report to Reno.
There have been times in the past where Smith seemed like a key part of Arizona’s future. The club selected him with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft and he went on to be one of the club’s top prospects.
When first called up to the majors, he didn’t immediately flourish, but he seemed to break out in 2024. He spent most of the first half of that season on optional assignment but got a decent chunk of playing time late in the year and capitalized on it. He finished the year with only 158 plate appearances but they were good ones. His 11.4% walk rate and 19.6% strikeout rate were both above-average figures and he hit nine home runs. His .270/.348/.547 slash line led to a 142 wRC+, indicating he was 42% better than league average at the plate overall.
He had another good season in 2025, finishing that year with a .258/.362/.434 line and 123 wRC+, but with some concerns. Though his walk rate ticked up to 14.2%, his strikeout rate ballooned to 31.9%. He was awful without the platoon advantage, hitting .167/.375/.167 against lefties. His overall production got a lot of help from a .377 batting average on balls in play. He was also pretty bad after a red-hot start. He had a .342/.473/.630 line through April but then hit .222/.311/.351 the rest of the way.
Coming into 2026, the Snakes hoped he could at least be a viable strong-side platoon guy. They signed Carlos Santana to help shield Smith from southpaws but both players quickly got hurt. Left elbow inflammation put Smith on the shelf after just two games. He returned at the start of June but hasn’t been able to get into a groove. He has a .141/.236/.192 line this year. A tiny .167 BABIP has hurt him a lot and he has returned his strikeout rate to a much better 20.2% clip, but he also only has one home run in 89 plate appearances.
The Snakes decided to move on and none of the other 29 clubs decided to grab him off waivers. Assuming he accepts the assignment, the Diamondbacks will see if a stint in Reno can get Smith back on track. If that comes to pass, there’s not much blocking his path to playing time, as the Snakes are currently using utility player Tim Tawa at first base most days. On the other hand, the club could look for a first baseman ahead of the deadline if they hang around enough to buy. They are currently 2.5 games back of a playoff spot.
If Smith is not added back to the roster before season’s end, he would become a free agent, like all players with at least three years of service who are removed from a 40-man roster in the preceding year.
Photo courtesy of Mark J. Rebilas, Imagn Images
