No, not that Kevin Smith, writer/director of Clerks and Tusk. This is Kevin Smith, now former infielder of the Oakland Athletics. In spite of high hopes and a couple periods of ripe opportunities to aid make good on the Matt Chapman trade, the A's lastly cut bait on the 27-year-old. As the leader of the #FreeKevinSmith movement, also I had to admit defeat and quit on his future in Oakland. How Acquired?In the A's 2021-22 firesale, David Forst sent out star third baseman Matt Chapman to the Toronto Blue Jays for an entirely underwhelming package, turning on extreme cases of deja vu across Sports Country https://www.athleticsprostore.com/tyler-soderstrom-jersey. Kevin Smith was one of the gamers, standing in as type of the Brett Lawrie of the trade - a high-floor infielder that needs to in theory have the ability to tip right into the major organization lineup and give strong manufacturing. Regrettably, that did not happen in his first period with the A's. In 2022, Smith struck under. 200 and was barely also half like an organization average gamer https://www.athleticsprostore.com/jeurys-familia-jersey. What were the expectations?The A's liquid chalked Smith's ineffective debut up to the newbie learning contour going right into 2023, going back to square one and giving him a chance to win a roster spot in Spring Training. It made good sense after seeing the September he had at Triple-A Las Vegas, where he hit a ludicrous 11 homeruns in simply 18 games. There was hope he had actually made a vital modification and with no solidified response at third base or shortstop, one of those positions was prime for his taking. 2023 ResultsThough he really did not make the Opening Day roster, Smith continued his Triple-A breakout, mashing to the song of a 1. 025 OPS - absurd even by Vegas criteria https://www.athleticsprostore.com/luis-barrera-jersey. In spite of that performance, Smith basically duplicated his newbie year at the big league degree. His. 185/. 220/ https://www.athleticsprostore.com/trayson-kubo-jersey. 326 batting line was nearly the same to what he did in 2022 while his stroll and strikeout rates intensified. The A's squeezed every last possibility out of him, nearly allowing him end up the period in Oakland before optioning him back to Triple-A with a week delegated go. What went right? What went wrong?The A's have commonly targeted gamers with strong efficiencies in the upper minors that have not yet obtained an opportunity to confirm themselves in the majors. In some cases it works a la Ryan Noda; other times, you get a Kevin Smith. He placed up amazing numbers at Triple-A however he plainly did not have the discernment and discipline needed to be also a typical significant organization factor. 2024 OutlookAfter the period finished, the A's decreased to tender Smith a contract, essentially launching him much less than 2 years after they obtained him. He lasted longer than his trade-mates Kirby Snead and Zach Logue yet is made it through by the hypothetical focal point prospect, Gunnar Hoglund, who ultimately pitched for a prolonged period and looked good (fingers crossed)! What's unfortunate is that Smith provided also less to the A's than Brett Lawrie, his spiritual precursor in the Josh Donaldson trade and demonstrated that the A's not just have not learned any lessons because that profession; they're borderline inexperienced now given how they have actually messed up nearly every significant trade during this reconstruct https://www.athleticsprostore.com/abraham-toro-jersey. Regrettably, Kevin Smith will likely be born in mind by A's followers a lot more for the front office negligence he stood for than what he did on the area.