No, not that Kevin Smith, writer/director of Clerks and Tusk. This is Kevin Smith, now former infielder of the Oakland Athletics. Regardless of high hopes and a couple seasons of ripe opportunities to aid make great on the Matt Chapman trade, the A's ultimately cut bait on the 27-year-old. As the leader of the #FreeKevinSmith movement, also I had to admit defeat and provide up on his future in Oakland. How Acquired?In the A's 2021-22 firesale JJ Bleday Jersey, David Forst sent out celebrity third baseman Matt Chapman to the Toronto Blue Jays for an entirely underwhelming package, triggering extreme situations of deja vu across Athletics Nation. Kevin Smith was just one of the players, standing in as type of the Brett Lawrie of the trade - a high-floor infielder who should in theory be able to tip right into the major league lineup and supply strong manufacturing. However Jared Koenig Jersey, that did not happen in his very first season with the A's. In 2022, Smith struck under.200 and was hardly also half just as good as a league typical player. What were the expectations?The A's liquid chalked Smith's fruitless launching approximately the newbie discovering contour going right into 2023, cleaning the slate clean and providing him a possibility to win a lineup area in Spring Training. It made good sense after seeing the September he contended Triple-A Las Vegas, where he hit a ludicrous 11 homeruns in just 18 games. There was hope he had actually made a crucial modification and without any strengthened response at 3rd base or shortstop, among those placements was prime for his taking. 2023 ResultsThough he really did not make the Opening Day lineup, Smith proceeded his Triple-An outbreak https://www.athleticsprostore.com/chad-pinder-jersey, mashing to the song of a 1.025 OPS - unreasonable even by Vegas requirements. In spite of that performance, Smith basically repeated his rookie year at the big league degree. His.185/.220/.326 batting line was virtually similar to what he performed in 2022 while his stroll and strikeout prices worsened. The A's squeezed every last chance out of him, almost letting him complete the period in Oakland prior to optioning him back to Triple-A with a week left to go.What went right? What went wrong?The A's have often targeted players with strong performances in the upper minors that have not yet obtained a chance to prove themselves in the majors. Occasionally it functions a la Ryan Noda; various other times, you get a Kevin Smith. He placed up incredible numbers at Triple-A however he clearly lacked the discernment and self-control needed to be also an average big league factor. 2024 OutlookAfter the season finished Jordan Diaz Jersey, the A's decreased to tender Smith an agreement, basically releasing him much less than two years after they acquired him. He lasted longer than his trade-mates Kirby Snead and Zach Logue but is survived by the theoretical focal point possibility, Gunnar Hoglund, that ultimately pitched for an extended period and looked excellent (fingers went across)! What's unfortunate is that Smith gave also less to the A's than Brett Lawrie https://www.athleticsprostore.com/elvis-peralta-jersey, his spiritual predecessor in the Josh Donaldson profession and demonstrated that the A's not only haven't discovered any type of lessons since that profession; they're borderline inept currently offered exactly how they've screwed up practically every major trade throughout this reconstruct. Sadly, Kevin Smith will likely be born in mind by A's followers more for the front workplace malpractice he represented than what he did on the field.