Five days ago, the Mets decided to option Dominic Smith to Triple-A Syracuse after determining that there wasn’t enough playing time to go around at first base with Pete Alonso having a phenomenal start to his MLB career.

Smith, 23, had 37 plate appearances for the Mets before being sent down in which he hit .333/.459/.400 with no home runs and four RBI to give himself a superb 149 wRC+ serving as the team’s primary left-handed pinch-hitter.

According to Mark Feinsand of MLB.com, it is being questioned whether or not their decision to option the first baseman was with the goal of eventually trading him to another club.

Executives in the article debated on his value, and they came to a general consensus that it depends on how a team values the left-handed hitter’s bat, but by himself, he likely won’t command a ton.

One scenario bandied about in the article was that the team could acquire the newly-turned reliever, Ian Kennedy, from the Kansas City Royals in exchange for Smith, assuming the Royals pay down a significant portion of the remaining $33 million on his contract.

However, if that is all Smith could fetch, is it really worth dealing him for a 34-year-old reliever who is largely viewed as someone who disappointed in Kansas City?

While Smith is by no means a major part of the Mets right now, he was providing value for the team, even having a 0.4 bWAR for the team in his lowly 37 plate appearances on the year off the bench.

That’s not to say if someone doesn’t come pounding down the Mets door for him that the team shouldn’t consider dealing him, but if he’s merely going by himself in a deal right now, it appears it won’t be for very much at all.

Down the road, maybe a deal develops in which Smith is used as a secondary piece to a bigger trade, which I’m sure most would agree that Smith should not be the player that the Mets balk at dealing in a larger package for a top-tier player.

Right now, though, the team likely would only be dealing Smith by himself and if that’s the case, it might not be worthwhile for the Mets.

Between his clear love for the team and energy he brings, his refound success after getting over his sleep apnea issues, and the fact that he continues to lose weight after disappointing when he first came up in 2017, Smith appears to be very much able to contribute to the Mets at the major league level in a positive manner. He arguably should never have even been sent down.

So, what do you think? Does he serve more value to the Mets or another team at this stage? If you think the latter, can he net a trade package worth surrendering the still-23-year-old?