On Monday, Jim Bowden of The Athletic released his annual preseason baseball predictions.
In the article, he said he believes Dominic Smith will beat out Adrian Gonzalez for the Mets first base job.
Gonzalez, 35, slashed .242/.287/.355 last year with three home runs in 71 games. However, New York took a flyer by signing him to the league minimum on a one-year deal. Whether they believed they could catch lightning in a bottle or wanted to put pressure on Smith remains to be seen.
Whatever it was, it worked. Smith came into camp this spring looking lean after dropping 25 to 30 pounds. He hit just .198 in 49 games for the Mets last year in a limited sample size, but will seek a reversal of fortunes. With his track record in the minors, it’s not far fetched to think he can’t.
It’s important to remember that he is just 22-years-old and still a very big piece of the team’s future. It will be interesting to see how the first base job shakes out this Spring.
To read Bowden’s piece click here.
Do you think Smith will ultimately beat out Gonzalez for the job?
