Dom growing into dependable piece for future

MINNEAPOLIS — When Dominic Smith met with members of the Mets front office who had arrived from the Red Sox last offseason, he was reminded of how highly that organization regarded him.

As the 24-year-old outfielder/ first baseman recalls, Mets director of player development Jared Banner was present in Southern California for the meeting (he had previously worked for the Red Sox alongside new assistant GM Allard Baird) and the two got to reminiscing about draft night 2013, when the Mets used the 11th-overall pick to select Smith from Junipero Serra High School near Los Angeles.

“We talked a bunch about draft night and Boston’s seventh-overall pick and it was between me and [pitcher] Trey Ball, so they kind of remember that a little bit and they reminded me about that,” Smith said.

Ball, a left-hander, is yet to play a game in the major leagues because of disappointing results compounded this season by injury. As spring training began this year, Smith was wearing the same label as a player who hadn’t nearly approached his potential. But Smith’s attitude told the new Mets executives he had a chance to succeed.

“He was in a great place physically and he was excited for the season,” Banner said by phone Monday. “You could just tell he had turned the corner.”

A half-season later Smith is a dependable piece for the Mets and now considered as part of the organization’s future. He will take a .295/.380/.527 slash line with eight homers into Tuesday’s game against the Twins, as he continues adjusting to life as the team’s primary left fielder.

If there was a silver lining to Jed Lowrie’s spring training knee injury that forced the veteran infielder to open the season on the injured list — he still hasn’t played a game for the Mets — it was the roster flexibility created that allowed team officials to take a longer look at Smith. He cracked the Opening Day roster and has stayed in the majors for all but a few days when he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse.

“I’m very happy with everything I accomplished and was able to do in the offseason and the work I put in coming into camp,” Smith said. “I had a slim chance of making the team and I’m just happy I was able to showcase my ability and show the organization, the team and the fans the type of player that I was and they drafted.”

In a “vanilla” 2018 season, Smith shuffled between the Triple-A and the major leagues and was a disappointment for the Mets, posting a .675 OPS in 143 atbats. And when he arrived at spring training this season, he was blocked at first base by Pete Alonso, who was receiving an opportunity to make the team. Alonso has emerged as the NL Rookie of the Year favorite with 30 home runs.

Smith languished on the bench early, thriving in a pinch-hitting role, but in recent weeks was given an opportunity to play left field, joining a crowded corneroutfield mix that has included J.D. Davis and could become more complex should Brandon Nimmo return this season from a bulging disk in his neck. Michael Conforto and Jeff McNeil play every day in the outfield.

Smith is already looking forward to the chance this offseason to go full-tilt in learning the position. And he said his development as a full player will continue. “The best players in the game, they have pretty much five tools,” Smith said. “They can hit for average, hit for power. They are athletic enough to run around in the outfield. They take the extra base, can steal bases. So that is definitely a part of my game I want to keep improving on and I’m going to go this offseason and improve as much as I can in the outfield. Work with a couple of track coaches and get my footspeed up a little bit and just trying to become an all-around baseball player.”