1ST THINGS FIRST
Ailing Smith vows to convince Amazin's he belongs in majors
PORT ST. LUCIE — Dominic Smith spent much of his offseason in a gym and restructuring his diet, reporting to spring training about 30 pounds lighter, and ready to compete for the Mets first-base job. For all that preparation, he had the worst baseball spring of his life. In his first Grapefruit League game this spring, on Feb. 24, Smith was running the bases, not realizing a ball Jose Reyes hit had been ruled a ground-rule double. Smith sprinted from first to home on the play, and felt discomfort in his right quadriceps. Smith told the training staff upon returning to the dugout later in the inning. He hasn’t played in a game since.
“This is the most athletic I have felt my whole career,” Smith said. “I joked around with some guys. I was like, ‘Man, last year I probably wouldn’t have pulled my quad because I wouldn’t have been running so fast.’ It’s something you can’t control and let it bring your spirit down.”
The 22-year-old Smith is unlikely to appear in the Mets’ remaining four Grapefruit League games as he continues rehabbing his quad. The position battle never really got started, handing the job to 35-yearold Adrian Gonzalez, who is hitting .191 with one homer and one RBI this spring as he attempts a comeback from back ailments that ended his Dodgers career.
“I wanted to see [Smith],” manager Mickey Callaway said. “That would have been huge for us to see who Dom Smith is, and it’s a shame we didn’t get to. We were excited about what he has to offer at some point.”
Smith is resigned to continuing his rehab and reporting to Triple-A Las Vegas, where he will attempt to convince team officials to give him another shot. In a six-week tryout at the end of last season, Smith hit just .198 with nine homers and 26 RBIs. A first-round selection for the Mets in the 2013 draft, Smith entered last season as the organization’s No. 2 prospect, behind shortstop Amed Rosario. “I’m going to just go [to Las Vegas] and do what I do and play hard and display what I was going to display in spring training,” Smith said. “I’m going to try to make it hard on the team. That’s all I can do.
“Whatever team I am on, I’m going to help them win ballgames and compete every night. I’m pretty excited to finally get back out there. Whenever that time comes, I will be out there busting my butt.”
Only adding to Smith’s miserable spring, he was late for a team meeting before the Mets’ first exhibition game and as punishment got scratched from the lineup by Callaway.
“Eventually, when I’m a five-, sixtime All-Star, I will probably laugh about it,” Smith said. “As of now, I see it as an unfortunate situation and it sucks, just like, ‘Man, if it’s not one thing, it’s another.’ As long as you learn from it and get better from it and mature from it, that is all they ask for and that is all I can do.”
A typical day for Smith in recent weeks has been arriving to the Mets’ complex around 6 a.m. to receive treatment on his quadriceps. He then takes batting practice and fields grounders, but base-running has been prohibited. Later in the day, Smith — who says he had never been injured before — does rehab exercises.
“Just as an athlete, you never think you will get hurt, and especially with a quad injury, it’s definitely a pain in the butt,” Smith said. “This is something I will overcome and make sure it doesn’t happen again.”