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Mets first baseman Dominic Smith, who came into camp looking like he was in the best shape of his life (ITBSOHL™), remains out with a quad injury and is not comfortable enough to run. With that, he’s hoping to play in a game before spring training comes to an end for the Mets, but with less than two weeks to go until Opening Day, that seems like a tall task.
Smith made his major league debut last year and appeared in 49 games for the Mets. Over 183 plate appearances, he hit nine home runs, essentially the only thing that stood out about his performance over that stretch. In total, he hit .198/.262/.395 with a 73 wRC+. Combined with not-so-great defense at first base, he wound up at -0.6 fWAR in that time.
Still just 22 years old, though, a healthy Smith might at least give Adrian Gonzalez actual competition for the job at first base. The Mets were probably going to open the season with Gonzalez starting no matter what, but it would be nice if Smith were healthy and putting together a nice Grapefruit League showing.