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New York Mets: Dominic Smith’s Future is Up in the Air

By Dylan Smith

NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 12: Dominic Smith #22 of the New York Mets rounds third base and scores on Jose Reyes #7 RBI double in the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on September 12, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - SEPTEMBER 12: Dominic Smith #22 of the New York Mets rounds third base and scores on Jose Reyes #7 RBI double in the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Citi Field on September 12, 2018 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images) /
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Former top prospect, Dominic Smith, may have played his way out of a job for the New York Mets. Is his future up in the air?

While the New York Mets are playing well to finish their 2018, former top prospect, Dominic Smith, continues to be an enigma. With the emergence of Peter Alonso, Smith’s continued struggles have him beginning to look like a bust at the Major League level. The 23-year-old Californian was once seen as a solution for the New York Mets. Dominic Smith now seems like just another problem.

Smith has always displayed a good hit tool throughout his six seasons in Minor League baseball, but this has yet to show at the big league level. Smith clearly possess skills as he has slashed .296/.361/.426 in over 2500 Minor League plate appearances. This has failed to translate to Queens as Smith has a disappointing MLB slash line of .204/.255/.400 in 96 career games played.

Going into Spring Training, the Mets’ first base job seemed like Smith’s for the taking. He had a good offseason, dropping 30 pounds, and the aging Adrian Gonzalez was the Mets’ only other option at first base.

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Gonzalez was viewed as a low-risk signing, no one knew if he had much left in the tank. The former slugger was viewed as a short-term solution, a bridge for Smith’s future role.

Smith’s issues started early on as the first baseman earned himself a quick seat on the bench as he showed up late to a meeting. The lefty was soon sidelined again by a nagging injury.

Smith’s season spiraled down from there. Adrian Gonzalez manned first base for the Mets while Smith rehabbed and played at Triple-A. While his slash line at Triple-A of .258/.328/.380 is respectable, it is a big drop from his 2017 statistics. Smith hit a very impressive .330/.386/.519 in 114 games at Triple-A in 2017. His numbers are supposed to improve throughout his development, not regress.

Even though his season has been a mess, Smith still remains optimistic (as shown in comments made to the New York Post).

“I feel like if I come in and do my part, I will force some hands,” Smith said. “That is all I can do. I can’t worry about everything else that is going on. We do have a lot of outfielders, a lot of really talented players. We do have Bruce seeing some time at first base and Pete Alonso is in Triple-A right now, so there’s a lot of stuff that needs to get solved over the next couple of months, but I feel it will work itself out.”

This situation could work itself out, or it could result in the lefty being traded in the offseason. The Mets have been doing their part to help Smith, there just becomes a point where there needs to be a return on their investment.

The Mets helped Smith by moving him to the outfield when Peter Alonso became the favorite at Triple-A Las Vegas. This added versatility benefited Smith as he was able to have more opportunities to develop over the short run.

This will definitely be an unpopular opinion, but I feel like Smith has held his own in the outfield, given that he was moved there in the middle of the season. The only issue is that it is hard to picture Smith in a corner outfield spot over the long run.

Michael Conforto and Brandon Nimmo have had great seasons and the team will have Yoenis Cespedes back in the fold for the second half of 2019. On paper, these are three solid corner outfielders, a fourth would not be ideal.

In the end, this all comes together to form a bad situation for Dominic Smith and the New York Mets. I would not be surprised if the youngster finds himself in a different uniform in 2019. I feel like Smith could still be a valuable player, the cards are just stacked against him in New York.

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The grass always seems to be greener, maybe Dominic Smith will find greener pastures with a change of scenery away from the New York Mets.

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