The bat of Dominic Smith (and some injuries) has forced the Mets hand into playing the youngster in left field. The Mets clearly did want Smith out there despite putting him in the outfield 13 times last season. That didn’t stop Smith from offering to do so.

Smith, still just 23, finally got his first chance to start this season in left field on May 31 against Arizona. He responded by going 3-for-5 with a home run. Two days later he got his second start in left field, he went 1-for-3 with two walks. The next day, in left field again, Smith had two hits including a home run.

After a couple of days off – Mets off day and then facing Madison Bumgarner – Smith was back in left field and doing damage with his bat, another two-hit game that included a homer.

In his four starts as a left fielder, Smith has gone 8-for-16 with three homers. The former top 100 is hitting .373/.468/.612 overall in 2019. He’s also posted a 1.4 bWAR, tied for fifth on the Mets.

Take this with a massive grain of salt because it’s only 30 innings, but Smith has one defensive run saved and 0.2 UZR in left field this year. Again, ridiculously small sample size, though give Smith props for getting himself in great shape for the 2019 season and seeing the benefits of that so far.

We’ve established that Dom needs to be in the lineup, and we know first base is not an option with potential NL Rookie of the Year Pete Alonso manning the position.

There’s a chance that Robinson Cano heads back to the injured list as he deals with a quad strain and sat out Thursday’s game. If he does, the picture is pretty clear because the Mets can simply put Jeff McNeil at second base and Smith in left field.

If Cano is healthy, the Mets are likely going to play him regardless of performance. That means you need a spot for McNeil. The versatile McNeil can play third, but right now Todd Frazier is one of the Mets hottest hitters (.962 OPS in last 20 games). The Mets would have to decide between Frazier at third and McNeil in left or McNeil at third and Smith in left. And the Mets have shown the tendency (even this year) to play the guy getting a significant paycheck.

Smith’s current competition for left field playing time is J.D. Davis. The 26-year-old has struggled with a .618 OPS since the start of May. And to this point, Smith has shown he’s competent against left-handed pitching (1.214 OPS) as well as righties (1.045 OPS).

Brandon Nimmo started his rehab assignment with St. Lucie on Thursday night so he’s approaching a return as well. Hopefully, the Mets let him take his time until he’s 100% healthy. That should leave Smith at least another week or so to continue mashing as the Mets left fielder.