Mets had no option but to option Dominic Smith
Mets designated hitter Dominic Smith returns to the dugout after being out on a double play during the fourth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals in an MLB baseball game at Citi Field on Wednesday, May 18, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Back on May 2, the Mets decided to pay Robinson Cano roughly $37 million to play for another team rather than ship Dominic Smith to Triple-A Syracuse.
Nearly a month later, they wound up demoting Smith anyway, for the sake of bringing up relief pitcher Adonis Medina, who had a 5.87 ERA in four previous appearances for the Mets this season.
Shocking? Not really.
The Mets, caught in a bullpen squeeze, desperately needed another arm for Tuesday’s game against the Nationals -- started by rotation patch Trevor Williams -- way more than the misfiring Smith, who had not been producing in a redundant role.
With Drew Smith still recovering from a dislocated pinky finger that didn’t require an IL stay, and the Mets having a 14th spot open for a pitcher, choosing Medina over Smith was kind of a no-brainer.
As one Mets official remarked, “What’s the big deal?”
It’s not a big deal now. Or shouldn’t be. Getting sent down, when a player has options, is always on the table -- especially when you’re batting .186 (16-for-86) like Smith, who had yet to hit a home run.
The other two Mets with options? Luis Guillorme, who’s been a 2000 Edgardo Alfonzo lately, isn’t going anywhere. Neither is J.D. Davis, a valuable righty bat who started Tuesday at DH and will now see an uptick of chances in that role.
For Smith, 26, it’s not so much about Tuesday’s demotion. The Mets had solid baseball rationale for that.
The bigger question is how long he ends up staying in Syracuse, as well as what he does during his unwanted time there. That will be the most revealing development involving Smith’s shaky status with the Mets, who don’t appear to be in any rush to have him back.
The next date to circle for Smith is June 19, which is the deadline for teams to reduce their pitching staffs to 13 (the Mets went to 14 in promoting Medina). An injury could always catapult Smith back to Flushing before then. But for now, Buck Showalter emphasized the importance of Smith racking up more at-bats, which he wasn’t getting with the Mets.
“Let’s face it, we’ve got a really good first baseman in Pete Alonso,” Showalter said. “Dom was probably feeling like every at-bat the past month he’s got to hit four home runs.”
On the eve of that May 2 cutdown, Smith -- who figured to be on the bubble -- had his best game of the season, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs in the Mets’ 10-6 win over the Phillies. Did that night save him? The Mets say no, and with Cano’s disintegration in San Diego (.107/.138/.107), there’s almost zero reason for regret.
We say “almost” because Smith certainly didn’t help his cause by complaining to Newsday’s Anthony Rieber about welcoming a trade somewhere else if it meant a chance to play every day. Smith isn’t the first player to have those feelings. There’s probably a few more in the Mets’ clubhouse.
But when you’re on a first-place team that’s off to a historically great start like Showalter’s crew, it’s never smart to say the quiet part out loud. And Smith isn’t stupid. He knew what he was doing. After coming tantalizingly close to being traded to the Padres towards the end of spring training -- for Eric Hosmer, Chris Paddack and Emilio Pagan -- Smith was probably left with the impression that another deal was possible, sooner rather than later. And as long as the Mets position players stay healthy, his situation isn’t going to improve.
Alonso has been on board with his DH days. But he views himself as a full-time first baseman, prides himself on the work he puts in defensively and would prefer playing there more than his 36/14 split through 50 games. Smith was able to get some leftfield starts in past years, but Showalter has no desire to use him at that position. Like, never.
Something had to give. It was becoming clearer by the day that the Mets’ roster configuration wasn’t working optimally for either Smith or the team. As much as the Mets were growing impatient for Smith to finally find some consistency at the plate, they wouldn’t give him enough playing time to actually achieve it.
“This will give him a chance to see if he can get back to the things we know he’s capable of,” Showalter said. “Hopefully he can do that. I have a lot of confidence that he will.”
And if Smith does, there’s no guarantee it will return him to Citi Field. While there’s pretty much zero market for him now, we’re gradually creeping into trade season -- the deadline is Aug. 2 this year -- and the Mets will no doubt be shopping him.
We know that would be fine with Smith because he’s already expressed those sentiments publicly. Obviously, Syracuse isn’t the place Smith had in mind for the opportunity.
David Lennon is an award-winning columnist, a voter for baseball's Hall of Fame and has covered six no-hitters, including two perfect games.
