Red Sox Make Difficult Roster Move Amid Triston Casas Return

The Red Sox don't have the luxury of making risky roster decisions, which means they instead have to make difficult ones.

Boston designated first baseman Dominic Smith for assignment Friday, according to FanSided's Robert Murray. Chris Cotillo of MassLive confirmed the report.

Triston Casas' return, which reportedly will come in Friday's matchup with the Baltimore Orioles, meant Smith was out of his starting job at first base. The Red Sox, knowing they couldn't afford to double down on left-handed bats, decided to part ways with a player that had become a fan favorite.

Big Dom Smith Moments will live forever, though.

Smith played 83 games for the Red Sox, slashing .237/.314/.390 with six homers and 20 doubles. Boston even got some quality innings out of the 29-year-old, as he logged three shutout innings in blowout games. Boston had to open up a 40-man roster spot to reinstate Casas, so the only viable options were to shut down James Paxton or designate Smith.

"I think, over the years, you just learn how the business works," Smith said on NESN's "310 to Left" podcast earlier this month. "You understand certain things and the stuff that you can't control, so if you sit there and worry about that stuff, it's going to drive you crazy. It's going to take away from your performance. You're not going to be able to sleep at night some nights.

"I think for me, I just love every day. I've been blessed and thankful to put on this uniform and I just can't worry about that... I just think taking it one day at a time. Enjoying each moment this summer has just been a blast."

The Red Sox are expected to rely on Connor Wong and Romy Gonzalez for reprieve at first -- both of which are right-handed bats. Smith will be either waived or released within the next seven days. He's expected to garner interest.