The Mets positioned first baseman Dominic Smith on the 10-day injured listing resulting from a proper ankle sprain, per a workforce announcement. The transfer is retroactive to July 17, so Smith will be capable to return by the center of subsequent week, in a best-case situation.
Smith’s placement on the IL comes with lower than two weeks remaining earlier than the Aug. 2 commerce deadline. He’s been an apparent change-of-scenery candidate for a lot of the season and has reportedly been the topic of conversations with both the Cubs and the Red Sox. Smith’s placement on the IL doesn’t by any means eradicate the potential of a commerce; past the truth that he can return previous to the deadline, it’s not unusual to see gamers flipped even whereas on the 10- or 15-day IL. (Look no additional than Boston’s acquisition of Kyle Schwarber final summer season.) That mentioned, it does throw a wrench into issues for the Mets, notably since they’d be promoting low on Smith within the first place.
The 27-year-old Smith hit .299/.366/.571 in 396 plate appearances with the Mets from 2019-20, giving the impression that he was making good on his standing as a former first-round decide and top-100 prospect. Within the two seasons since that point, nevertheless, he’s managed only a .233/.298/.345 batting line in 645 plate appearances, taking part in by way of a partial tear in his proper shoulder’s labrum final season and struggling by way of inconsistent taking part in time to date in 2022. The Mets optioned Smith to Triple-A Syracuse on the finish of Might, and whereas he hit pretty effectively within the minors and has been a bit higher since returning in late June, the general outcomes this season have been fairly poor.
Smith is owed the rest of a $3.95MM wage for the 2022 season and can be arbitration-eligible twice extra earlier than turning into a free agent following the 2024 season — assuming he’s tendered a contract, after all. At current, he seems like a transparent non-tender candidate for a Mets workforce that received’t be capable to afford him common taking part in time upon his return from the IL, though one other membership would possibly welcome the prospect to purchase low on Smith and hope that common at-bats result in manufacturing nearer to his 2019-20 kind.
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