Down time has perked up Dom’s bat
When the Mets picked up Javy Baez at July’s trade deadline, the team knew that acquisition would eventually mean less playing time for Dominic Smith, Jeff McNeil and J.D. Davis. It would all shift when Francisco Lindor returned from the injured list on Aug. 24 and reclaimed his position at shortstop, while Baez took over at second base.
In the eight games since childhood friends Lindor and Baez became double-play partners for the Mets, Smith has started in just three games and appeared in six. He’s been limited to pinch-hitting off the bench when he’s not starting in left field. Mets manager Luis Rojas indicated he would play the hot hand for the remainder of the season, which led to McNeil getting four starts in left field over Smith in those eight games since the infield embraced the Lindor-Baez combo.
Smith’s loss of playing time made sense when considering his recent struggles at the plate. He batted .207 with a .462 OPS across 25 games (20 starts) in August. He posted an OPS+ of just 38 last month, routinely off balance and chasing pitches. Going back even further, Smith is slugging .311 with only two home runs since the All-Star break, seeing his power diminish particularly in the second half of the regular season.
His time on the bench has allowed Smith to take a step back and focus on his approach. When Smith lined a 104mph rocket off Sandy Alcantara as a pinch-hitter in the Mets’ 4-3 win over the Marlins on Thursday, it was one of the best at-bats we had seen from him since the All-Star break. That game-winning RBI single came on a slider at the top of the zone, which was a good indication for Smith and his manager that he’s feeling confident in the box again.
“I’m very proud that he’s taken this diminished playing time to working,” said Luis Rojas. “He’s been in the cage, he’s been working on himself and trying to find himself. And when a guy does that, and contributes for the team in a big situation, it just tells you the discipline that he has.”
The culprit behind Smith’s decline in offensive production this season has been his lower half. Without involving his legs, Smith became disconnected and jumpy at the plate. For his scorched single Thursday, Smith got all of Alcantara’s breaking ball by staying on his legs, which allowed him to see the ball longer and extend his arms through the zone.
It was as good a sign as any that Smith can be an offensive threat again.
“Hitting sliders is just something that I did when I was playing well,” Smith said. “Just getting back to that felt good.”
He still has a month left to improve his numbers, which are comprehensively underwhelming. His .672 OPS this year ranks 134th in MLB among hitters with a minimum of 400 plate appearances. Compare that to his .993 OPS in 2020, ranked 7th in MLB among hitters with a minimum of 190 plate appearances, and the drop-off has been damaging for the Mets lineup.
It’s important to note that Mets hitting coach Hugh Quattlebaum recently indicated Smith has been playing through minor injuries involving his wrist and groin, though Smith downplayed any severity or involvement of those aches and pains in regard to his offensive performance. Still, Smith entered September with more plate appearances this year (461) than his last two seasons combined (396). From 2017-2020, Smith averaged 61 games per season. His 125 games played this year are well past his single-season career high, 89 games in 2019.
“I think with the time off, he’s taken advantage to work on some things,” Rojas said.
A little extra rest for Smith ever since Lindor and Baez took over the infield is not going to hurt. In fact, his manager indicated his diminished playing time has only helped him spend time with his approach and fix his lower-half problems. If Smith can return to the same success he enjoyed in 2020, his presence in the Mets lineup — off the bench or in a starting role — can provide a necessary boost down the stretch.