Dominic Smith in a professional purgatory near end of weird year
Dominic Smith after popping out in fifth inning against the Houston Astros on June 22. Credit: Getty Images/Carmen Mandato
ATLANTA — Nearing the end of his weird season, Dominic Smith is in a sort of professional purgatory — both in the short term, since he is physically with the Mets but not on the Mets as a member of the taxi squad, and in the longer term, since his future with the franchise beyond this year is an open question.
“He knows he’s going to get an opportunity to impact a major-league club next year,” Showalter said Saturday. “It might be ours. I think the last month or so down there (in the minors), he started playing like a guy that was better than that level. And that was good to see. I think he really positioned himself. There’s a lot of people watching, and I told him. I hope it’s with us, but who knows what next year will bring.”
Smith, for his part, said he tries not to think about it.
“Why would you wonder when all those things are out of your control?” Smith said. “I went down there and showed them what I could do. Whether it’s here or wherever, that’s not my decision to make. I take my job and I went and I handled my business, so that’s all I can do . . . I was in a good headspace and just happy to be around the boys, happy to be here and support them in any way they need.”
For now, then, Smith is trying to contribute in intangible ways amid the Mets’ pennant push. He has a locker in the clubhouse but is not on the roster. He takes batting practice but does not hit in games. He is present and available if the Mets want to add him to the roster, but they are carrying Francisco Alvarez and Mark Vientos (both righthanded hitters) instead.
He is happy to be back, along for the ride.
“The boys really appreciate my presence. I think being around is extremely fun. It’s good for the boys,” Smith said. “Getting back here, seeing how the guys welcomed me in and were very excited to see me, I’m very excited to be here to cheer them on. We have a really good team. I just want this team to go out and complete the end goal. We know we still have a lot of work to do. Being right here, a part of it but not a part of it, is still pretty cool.”
Smith’s 2022 included opening the season as part of a DH triumvirate alongside J.D. Davis and Robinson Cano, but he struggled in a part-time role and was demoted to Triple-A Syracuse in late May. He returned in late June but sprained his ankle a few weeks later. While he was on the injured list, the Mets acquired Daniel Vogelbach from the Pirates to replace him, soaking up his DH at-bats against righthanded hitters. Thus, when he was healthy, back to Syracuse he went.
His major-league numbers include a .194/.276/.284 slash line and zero homers.
With Syracuse, though, he mashed. He hit .294 with a .351 OBP and .541 slugging percentage with six homers and 18 RBIs in 21 games in September.
Among the keys: He was an everyday player again. Now he’ll try to convince a team — the Mets or otherwise — to let him do the same in the majors.
“When you go home at night and you know that you’re going to be in there every day, you can prepare and plan a little bit differently,” Smith said. “You can tinker with things. You can take your shots to hit home runs. You can just play the game.”
Tim Healey is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. Born on Long Island and raised in Connecticut, Tim has previously worked for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Boston Globe and MLB.com. He is also the author of “Hometown Hardball,” a book about minor league baseball in the northeast.
