The Blue Jays released Smith from his minor-league deal June 1.
Smith lost his spot on Triple-A Buffalo's roster after slashing .195/.319/.208 with an 11-for-13 success rate on stolen-base attempts across 91 plate appearances. The 29-year-old still possesses high-end speed, but his shoddy outfield defense and lack of power and on-base skills could make it difficult for him to resurface in the big leagues. He last appeared in the majors in 2020, when he played in 14 games for Seattle.
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Blue Jays' Mallex Smith: Back with Blue Jays on minors deal
Rotowire
Smith signed with the Blue Jays as a non-roster invitee Monday.
Smith ended the season with Toronto after being acquired from the Reds in mid-August. He only appeared in 35 minor-league games last season, hitting .255/.376/.388. He'll likely be little more than organizational depth for the Blue Jays but has enough speed to offset his light bat should he find himself with unexpected playing time.
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Blue Jays' Mallex Smith: Dealt to Toronto
Rotowire
Smith was traded from the Reds to the Blue Jays on Saturday and was assigned to Triple-A Buffalo, Mitch Bannon of SI.com reports.
Smith was not on Cincinnati's 40-man roster and it's unclear what the Reds will receive from Toronto in this transaction. He is known for being a big-time stolen-base threat, but the rest of his game leaves a lot to be desired. It's possible he could serve as a pinch-running specialist for the big club at some point down the stretch.
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Reds' Mallex Smith: Signs with Reds organization
Rotowire
Smith signed a minor-league deal with the Reds and will likely be assigned to Triple-A Louisville, Bobby Nightengale of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Smith was with the Mets in spring training and remained with the organization until late May. It would likely take a few injuries at the major-league level for him to get called up by the Reds.
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Mets' Mallex Smith: Headed to MiLB camp
Rotowire
Smith was reassigned to minor-league camp Sunday.
Smith was unable to break camp with the Mets after hitting .176 with three RBI and three stolen bases in 17 games this spring. The 27-year-old hit .133 in 14 major-league games with the Mariners in 2020 and could have to prove himself at Triple-A Syracuse if he hopes to return to the big leagues in 2021.
Smith signed a minor-league deal with the Mets on Wednesday, Tim Britton of The Athletic reports.
The 27-year-old was traded from the Rays to the Mariners ahead of the 2019 season, but he struggled after being sent west with a .612 OPS in 148 games before getting removed from the 40-man roster in September. Smith had a .773 OPS and 40 stolen bases in 2018 with Tampa Bay, and the Mets will take a low-risk flier in the event he's able to rediscover that form.
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Mallex Smith: Becomes free agent
Rotowire
Smith elected free agency Thursday, Andersen Pickard of MLBDailyDish.com reports.
The speedy outfielder struggled this season, slashing .133/.170/.178 before being sent to Seattle's alternate training site Sept. 11. He has decided to become a free agent and could very well draw interest from teams who are looking to add to their outfield depth this winter.
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Mariners' Mallex Smith: Outrighted to alternate site
Rotowire
Smith cleared waivers and was outrighted to the alternate training site Friday.
The 27-year-old was demoted to the alternate training site in mid-August, and he's now also been removed from Seattle's 40-man roster. Smith had a .133/.170/.178 slash line with two stolen bases in 47 plate appearances this season.
Smith was optioned to the Mariners' alternate training site Tuesday.
Smith has been an interesting fantasy option for a few seasons thanks to his considerable speed, as he stole 86 bases across the last two seasons, but questions remain about his ability to hit well enough to remain in the lineup on a regular basis. He's answered those questions firmly in the negative so far this year, hitting a miserable .133/.170/.178 through 14 games. If he eventually returns to the roster later this season, he may not play enough to have much fantasy relevance.
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Mariners' Mallex Smith: Looks like reserve player
Rotowire
Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Astros.
Now on the bench for the fifth time in seven games, Smith seems to have at least temporarily lost out on a regular spot in the lineup versus right-handed pitching. While Smith has gone 2-for-2 on stolen-base attempts, his performance at the plate has been even rougher than usual, as he enters play Sunday with a .133/.170/.178 slash line and 27.7 percent strikeout rate over 47 plate appearances. Expect Tim Lopes to continue receiving more work in the corner outfield at Smith's expense.
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Mariners' Mallex Smith: Retreats to bench
Rotowire
Smith isn't in the lineup Friday against the Astros.
Smith will take a seat for the fourth time in the past five games in the midst of a slump. He went 1-for-4 with one strikeout Wednesday. Dylan Moore will shift to right field with Dee Gordon taking over as the left fielder.
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Mariners' Mallex Smith: Remains on bench
Rotowire
Smith isn't starting Tuesday against the Rangers.
Smith will sit for a third consecutive game as he's swung a cold bat to begin the year. Dylan Moore will take over in right field with Dee Gordon stepping in as the left fielder Tuesday.
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Mariners' Mallex Smith: Sitting again Monday
Rotowire
Smith isn't in the lineup Monday against the Rangers.
Smith has been in a slump to begin the season, and he'll ride the bench for his second straight game. Dylan Moore will shift to right field with Tim Lopes starting in left field.
Smith is out of the lineup for Sunday's game against the Rockies, Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reports.
With another hitless showing in Saturday's 5-0 loss, Smith is now batting .135/.179/.189 with a career-worst 28.2 percent strikeout rate through 11 games. While Smith's porous offensive production would likely relegate him to a full-time bench role on most teams, the Mariners don't have many appealing alternatives on the active roster. Seattle doesn't seem eager to start the service clock on top prospect Jarred Kelenic, so it may simply wait and hope that one of Smith, Tim Lopes or Dee Gordon eventually heats up at the plate to solidify a spot in the corner outfield.
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Mariners' Mallex Smith: Productive out of bottom of order
Rotowire
Smith went 2-for-4 with an RBI single and a stolen base in a loss to the Rockies on Friday.
Smith experienced some rather rare success with the bat, opening the scoring on the night with his second-inning single that plated Dee Gordon. The speedster also swiped his second bag of the campaign in what was his first multi-hit effort of 2020. Smith is 3-for-7 over the last two games, but his season line still sits at an unsightly .147/.194/.206.
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Mariners' Mallex Smith: Takes seat Tuesday
Rotowire
Smith is not in the lineup Tuesday against the Angels.
Smith has seen inconsistent playing time in recent contests as he's gone 2-for-23 with two doubles, two RBI, two runs and nine strikeouts over seven games this year. Dylan Moore will start in right field, batting eighth.
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Mariners' Mallex Smith: Remains on bench
Rotowire
Smith remains out of the lineup Saturday against Oakland.
Smith has now sat for two straight games and for four of the last six contests, including twice against righties like Saturday's starter Mike Fiers. He's gone just 1-for-17 at the plate this season after missing the early part of summer camp for undisclosed reasons. Dylan Moore will start in right field in his absence.
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Mariners' Mallex Smith: On bench versus lefty
Rotowire
Smith is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Athletics.
Smith started five of the first seven games of the season but will head to the bench after going 1-for-17. Dylan Moore will start in right field against Oakland southpaw Sean Manaea.
