Smoak had put a decent .820 OPS with seven home runs and 19 RBI through 41 games this season in Nippon Professional Baseball, but he had trouble getting his family to join him in Japan amid the COVID-19 pandemic and has now officially been put on release waivers. "His love of family outweighed everything else," said Atsuhiro Otsuka, the Yomiuri Giants' assistant representative to NPB. The 34-year-old could potentially find a minor league deal stateside if he wants continue his playing career.

Passan says the deal will guarantee Smoak "somewhere in the $6-7 million" range, which is a whole lot more than what he would have received from any MLB club this winter after struggling to a .176/.250/.361 batting line in 132 plate appearances between the Brewers and Giants in 2020. He turned 34 years old earlier this month.

Smoak signed on with the Giants earlier this month after getting released by the Brewers, but the 33-year-old went 0-for-6 with two strikeouts during his short stay with San Francisco and is now batting .176/.250/.361 in 132 total plate appearances this season. Alex Dickerson has been activated from paternity leave in a corresponding move.

Jon Heyman of MLB Network was first to report the news of the agreement, and now the Giants have made it official. Smoak has been added to the team's 60-man player pool and could join the active roster within the next couple of days. He was released by the Brewers on Tuesday after batting just .186 with a .642 OPS through his first 126 plate appearances this season, but he has some power and can be a useful switch-hitting option at DH or off the bench down the stretch for San Francisco. There's no major fantasy relevance here.