Dom aims to be ‘best’ he can be

Dom Smith wants to pressure the Mets. He wants to make it hard for them to not want him.

Smith, whose Major League career resides somewhere between “disappointing” and “real disappointing,” was front and center Monday when he ran into shortstop Amed Rosario, who subsequently dropped a routine pop that allowed the winning run to score in the 13th inning.

Smith still felt “horrible” Tuesday about the error and searched for the silver linings behind the dark cloud. It wasn’t a postseason game. It came in his age-23 season. He has time to learn his craft.

“I’m going to go and turn myself into the best player I can be. Get into better shape, lift weights and get stronger, get faster, steal bases. I want to put a lot of pressure on them. I want them to have to make tough decisions when I come into camp,” Smith said of the offseason. “I’m definitely coming to camp ready to play outfield, first base.”

Saying is one thing. Doing is another. And the Mets hope there is some doing the rest of this season. And beyond. Smith has been a first baseman by trade and never played the outfield professionally until July. The Mets see him as a hybrid.

“We’re going to find spots for him when it makes sense because we want to see him play and we want to see the other guys play so it’s a balance of trying to fit in everybody,” manager Mickey Callaway said.

“We think moving forward, if he can bring that versatility, even if he ends up playing first base for a long period of time, just being able to play in the outfield helps us out, it helps him out and gives us a better chance to win,” Callaway said. “So we really value that versatility. If he can do it and excel at it, it’s really going to help us out.”

There is, naturally, a major “if.” The Mets have a three-headed management team filling in for general manager Sandy Alderson. What their GM position looks like next season is unknown. So Smith wants to contribute in the waning days of 2018 and be ready for 2019. So far, 2018 is trash heap material for the Los Angeles-born Smith, who was the Mets’ 2013 firstround pick. Of the future, they’ve told him “be ready,” said Smith, who is hitting .192 through 31 games.