Dominic Smith was supposed to be the guy. If you followed the Mets farm system back in 2013, he was the crown jewel, the sweet-swinging first baseman from Junipero Serra High School who was going to anchor the lineup for a decade. He had that smooth, effortless left-handed stroke that scouts drool over. But baseball is rarely a straight line. By the time Smith’s tenure in Queens ended, fans were left wondering how a player with so much raw talent and such a massive heart ended up as a man without a position.
It's weird looking back.
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Most people remember the 2020 season as a wash, but for Smith, it was his masterpiece. He hit .316. He slugged .616. He looked like an MVP candidate. Then, the world went back to normal, the National League added the designated hitter permanently, and somehow, Dominic Smith got lost in the shuffle. It wasn't just one thing that went wrong; it was a perfect storm of injuries, the rise of a generational superstar at his position, and the brutal reality of modern analytics.
The Pete Alonso Factor: A Logjam for the Ages
You can't talk about Dominic Smith and the New York Mets without talking about Pete Alonso. It’s the elephant in the room. Smith was the blue-chip prospect, the first-round pick with the pedigree. Alonso was the power hitter with some "swing and miss" concerns who forced his way onto the roster with a historic Spring Training in 2019.
Once Alonso hit 53 home runs as a rookie, Smith’s fate was basically sealed.
The Mets tried everything to keep Smith’s bat in the lineup. They put him in left field. Honestly, it was a disaster. Smith is a natural first baseman—arguably a better defender at the bag than Alonso—but in the outfield, he looked like a fish out of water. He worked hard, sure. He crashed into walls. He made the occasional sliding catch. But his defensive metrics were a nightmare. In 2021, his Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in the outfield was deeply in the negative. You could see the toll it took on him. Playing out of position every day is exhausting, and eventually, that fatigue leaked into his offensive production.
He was a man trapped. If he played first, Alonso had nowhere to go. If he played the outfield, he was a liability. When the DH came to the NL, it seemed like the solution, but by then, Smith’s swing had developed a hitch that he couldn't quite shake.
The Sleep Apnea Breakthrough and the 2020 Peak
A lot of fans forget that Smith’s career almost stalled before it even started because he was literally tired all the time. He was diagnosed with sleep apnea after years of struggling with lethargy. Once he started using a CPAP machine, he became a different human being. He lost weight. He was twitchier at the plate.
That transformation culminated in the 60-game 2020 season.
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- He posted a 164 wRC+ (which means he was 64% better than the average MLB hitter).
- He led the team in doubles with 21.
- He finished 13th in NL MVP voting despite playing in a shortened season.
It felt like he had finally arrived. He was hitting everything. High fastballs, sliders in the dirt—it didn't matter. But 2020 was an outlier in more ways than one. The small sample size might have masked some underlying issues with his launch angle. While he was spraying line drives all over Citi Field, he wasn't consistently lifting the ball. In the modern game, if you’re a first baseman who doesn't hit 25+ home runs, you’re basically a dinosaur.
Injuries and the "Launch Angle" Trap
The 2021 and 2022 seasons were brutal for Smith. He suffered a labrum tear in his shoulder that he tried to play through, which is basically career suicide for a power hitter. If your lead shoulder is compromised, you can't drive the ball. Period.
His home run power evaporated.
He went from slugging .616 in 2020 to a measly .363 in 2021. The Mets front office, led at the time by various regimes, kept hoping he’d find that 2020 magic again. They looked at the underlying data. His hard-hit rate was still decent, but he was pounding the ball into the ground. He became a "ground ball machine" at the worst possible time.
By 2022, the relationship had soured. Smith was frustrated with his playing time. The fans, who once cheered his "scooter" celebration when he walked off games, were starting to boo. He was eventually optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. It was a humbling fall for a guy who was once the face of the future. The Mets eventually non-tendered him, letting him walk for nothing. It was a quiet end to a tenure that started with so much noise.
What Most People Get Wrong About Dom’s Legacy in Queens
People like to call Smith a "bust," but that’s lazy. A bust is someone who doesn't have the talent to play in the big leagues. Smith has the talent. He just didn't have the fit.
He was also the heart of the clubhouse during some really turbulent years. Remember 2020? Beyond the stats, Smith was the emotional leader of the team. His post-game press conference regarding social justice was one of the most raw, honest moments in New York sports history. He cared. He cared about the city, the fans, and his teammates.
The problem was strictly "baseball geometry." You can't fit two elite first basemen into one lineup without one of them suffering. The Mets chose the guy who hits 40 home runs a year. You can't blame them for that.
The Reality of Life After the Mets
Since leaving New York, Smith has bounced around. He spent time with the Washington Nationals, the Boston Red Sox, and the Cincinnati Reds. In Washington, he actually played a full season in 2023, appearing in 153 games. He hit .254 with 12 home runs. It was... fine. But it wasn't the superstar production everyone expected back in 2017.
He’s settled into a role as a "high-floor" veteran. He’s a guy who will give you professional at-bats, play gold-glove caliber defense at first base, and be a positive influence in the room. But the dream of him being the next Keith Hernandez in Queens? That’s officially over.
Why the Mets Failed Dominic Smith (And Vice Versa)
- Positional Rigidity: The Mets waited too long to move him. They should have traded him after his 2020 peak when his value was sky-high. By holding onto him as a bench piece, they tanked his trade value and stunted his growth.
- The Injury Timeline: Playing through a torn labrum was a mistake. Smith wanted to be a team player, but it destroyed his mechanics. He should have had surgery immediately.
- The "Lifting" Obsession: In an era where everyone was trying to hit fly balls, Smith’s natural swing was more flat. Trying to change that swing to match the "launch angle" trend might have done more harm than good.
Actionable Takeaways for Mets Fans and Analysts
If you're looking at the current Mets roster and trying to see who might be the "next" Dominic Smith—a player with talent but no clear path—keep an eye on the corner outfield and DH spots.
- Watch the Service Time: Smith’s career shows how quickly a "prospect" becomes "roster clutter" if they don't have a definitive defensive home.
- Health Over Heroics: Smith’s decline started when he tried to play through pain. If a young player's power numbers dip suddenly, it's almost always an undisclosed injury, not a lack of effort.
- The "Blocker" Effect: A superstar like Pete Alonso is great, but they can accidentally kill the careers of other talented players who play the same position. Balance is key in roster construction.
Dominic Smith’s time with the New York Mets will always be a "what if." What if there was a DH in 2019? What if he never hurt his shoulder? What if Alonso had been traded for pitching instead? We'll never know. But for a brief window in 2020, Dom Smith was the best hitter in New York, and that’s something nobody can take away from him. Moving forward, his career serves as a case study in how fragile a baseball career can be, even for the most talented players in the world. Managers and GMs are now more cautious about "forcing" a player into a position they aren't built for, largely because they saw how much it drained a talent like Smith. Increasingly, the league is moving toward specialized roles, ensuring that the next Dominic Smith doesn't spend his prime years chasing fly balls in a position he was never meant to play.