With teams cutting their pitching staffs down to 13 on Monday, the Mets announced that they’ve recalled first baseman/outfielder Dominic Smith from Triple-A Syracuse and placed righty Seth Lugo on the paternity list. Another arm will have to be sent out once Lugo returns from the paternity list later this week.
Smith was optioned to Triple-A earlier in the month after struggling through limited playing time and publicly acknowledging (when asked) that he’d prefer an opportunity to play every day — be it with the Mets or another club. He’s found more of a rhythm down in Syracuse, logging regular reps and hitting .266/.347/.438 with a pair of homers, five doubles, an 8.3% walk rate and a 16.7% strikeout rate in 72 plate appearances. Smith absolutely tore through International League pitching for the first two weeks after his demotion, though he’s fallen into a 3-for-24 skid over his past five games.
That’s a far cry from Smith’s 2019-20 form, when he was one of the NL’s best all-around hitters, posting a combined .299/.366/.571 slash with 21 homers in 396 trips to the plate. However, it’s also markedly better than the numbers he produced in 2021 while playing through a small tear in his shoulder (.244/.304/.363) or earlier this season in a heavily limited role (.186/.287/.256).
It’s possible this will be only a short-term move for Smith, as there’s still no clear path to regular playing time for him on the big league roster. Mark Canha, Brandon Nimmo and Starling Marte are one of the game’s most productive outfield trios, while Pete Alonso is enjoying some of the best production of his career at first base. J.D. Davis is hitting .339/.391/.452 over his past 20 games, mostly operating as the Mets’ designated hitter. One could argue in favor of Smith seeing regular DH work and Davis taking playing time from the struggling Eduardo Escobar at the hot corner, but Escobar was generally hitting fine before falling into a five-game hitless slump — and Davis’ defensive shortcomings are well-documented.
Ultimately, a trade of some sort seems like the most straightforward path to uncluttering the corner infield/designated hitter mix in Queens, with Smith or Davis standing as the most obvious possibilities to change hands. That said, there’s no pressure for the Mets to make an immediate move, and Smith could simply be optioned out again if the Mets want to add some more defensive versatility than he brings to the table. Both Smith and Davis have multiple minor league options remaining, meaning they can be freely optioned this year and next. It’s a relatively expensive pair of depth options to carry when there isn’t clear space for both on the 26-man roster — Smith is earning $3.95MM, Davis $2.76MM — but payroll issues of that nature are less concerning to the deep-pocketed Mets than to other clubs.
Surprised Reed hasn’t been cut yet
He got sent down already
That is correct. When Lugo comes back Lopez might be the odd man out.
Braves just called up Mike Ford sent Down Jesus Cruz MLBTR
Preferred a cruise in a Ford 750
Not a PT Cruiser?
Haha , convertible
Smith just doesn’t have much trade value. His leak performance has been the year of the juiced ball and the following abbreviated schedule. While he plays a good first base, he’s not a 330 hitter nor one with power. The position. commands one or the other
He needs to be kept at Syracuse for most of the remainder of the year. He WAS sent down to find his swing a little more than two weeks ago, and I wouldn’t say .266 at AAA in that brief time is evidence he’s found his swing. The Angels do the very same with Jo Adell. They swear they’re leaving him at AAA until he is genuinely ready only to call him back up a week later. Make a decision and stick to it.
I think at this point they’re just trying to get out of him what they can. He was never really good trade bait anyway, at least he hasn’t been for a while.
Yeah I kind of agree with you. It really seems sketchy. But time will tell. I’m sure the Mets have been uber-planning for moves at the trade deadline, so maybe they haven’t addressed his future yet.
I’m sure he isn’t the only one they’re looking at. Lugo has been a sore spot for them in the BP more often than not, and we cannot assume deGrom and Scherzer are not going to have setbacks the 2nd half of the season. Cohen is NOT going to let the season get away from him. Don’t be surprised if he bulks up on starters and relievers just in case.
There was some talk of Palka being called up before this announcement.
The only reason to keep Dom Smith around is the possibility that Alonso could get hurt and miss a lot of time.
Well, that and the fact that they won’t get anything of value for him anyway.
I’m curious, by what metric is Nimmo, Canha, and Marte one of the most productive outfields?
I’m not disagreeing necessarily (sunce I’m not doing the work of analyzing all 30 outfields), but given the lack of power between the three of them I’d assume that there would be teams that are better.
I would guess consistent rather then pure production.
im too lazy to look at all the teams so i just checked the nl and the only teams that have all 3 of their top outfielders with ops+ of over 100 are the Cubs, Pirates, and Giants. I dont know how good those teams are on defense but overall i know the Mets defense is solid saving runs, make productive outs such as sacrifices, have speed to stretch into doubles and triples, and throw in a few steals. While they are not hitting long balls they are consistent and overall all 3 are productive.
So i would definitely call doing all that does make them “ONE OF” the most productive. Are they THE most productive outfield probably not.
I recall him too. Played for the Mets, didn’t he?
This made me laugh pretty hard. Thank you.
My work here is done. ; )