Red Sox fans seemed momentarily excited over the weekend when news broke that former fill-in first baseman/social media cult hero Dom Smith was once again available after opting out of a minor league deal with the Yankees. He won’t be returning to Boston, though.

Smith signed a major league deal with the Giants and was immediately inserted into their starting lineup as the first baseman for Wednesday’s game, replacing veteran LaMonte Wade Jr., who was designated for assignment. Smith, who hit .255 with eight homers, 28 RBIs and a .782 OPS in 45 games for the Yankees’ Triple-A team in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, went 0-for-4 in his San Francisco debut.

There was some thought that the Red Sox, in the wake of Triston Casas’ season-ending knee injury, would once again turn to Smith as a replacement option. But Boston, according to a source, never expressed interest to Smith’s camp despite the Red Sox looking like a desirable destination in Smith’s eyes. Boston has largely filled the gap internally in Casas’ absence, splitting the position between Romy Gonzalez, Abraham Toro and Nick Sogard. The Red Sox did make a minor trade for Ryan Noda, who is at Triple-A.

Smith, who turns 30 later this month, hit .237 with six homers, 34 RBIs and a .706 OPS in 84 games for the Red Sox last year, joining Boston as a free agent after Casas went down with torn cartilage in his rib cage. His 2024 season ended in Cincinnati for nine games before he signed with New York this winter. The Giants are Smith’s fifth big league team since 2022 (and his eighth, including minor league/spring stints).