Dominic Smith is coming off a breakout season in 2019, finding legitimate success at the big league level for the first time. Yet throughout this offseason, Smith was probably the most talked about trade piece among the Mets young core.

The reason being that Smith is blocked from his natural position of first base, with Pete Alonso clearly representing the future at that position for the Mets. This led many to speculate if Smith could be moved in a deal to address some other needs on the roster.

But now that the season is less than a month away, Smith appears to be staying put and will be asked to play a similar role to the one he flourished in 2019. His at-bats are primarily going to come either as the starting left fielder or off the bench as a late-game pinch hitter.

According to Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News, Smith is content in his role for the upcoming season.

“All I know is the thing I can control — and that’s how hard I play, my preparation and the energy I put out there and being a good teammate,” Smith told Thosar.

Smith brings a more confident attitude to camp this year, sounding more like a veteran that knows he belongs and less like a former top prospect who is still trying to find his footing in the big leagues.

Aside from Alonso, the Mets brought more competition into spring training for Smith when they signed Matt Adams to a minor league deal. Adams could play a similar role to Smith, as a left-handed power bat that can back up Alonso at first base.

In some ways, the addition of Adams could make Smith more expendable if a midseason trade presented itself, but that is not something that Smith is worrying about according to Thosar.

“You can’t (think about being optioned or traded), because if I think about it too much it’s going to take me away from how I perform on the field and my everyday duty as a professional baseball player. So all I can do is keep a smile on my face, have fun and try to make the most out of everything.” Smith explained.

Smith has been hard at work this offseason, as he continues to learn how to play left field after playing almost exclusively at first base throughout his minor league career.

Last year, Smith made 27 starts in left field and played 219 innings at the position. He was worth -2 defensive runs saved, which isn’t great, but was an improvement over the -5 DRS Smith posted in just 90 innings in left field back in 2018.

Mets manager Luis Rojas worked with Smith at the position last year when he was the quality control coach, and has noticed steady improvements from the now outfielder.

Smith is one of many players vying for playing time in left field, with J.D. Davis, Yoenis Cespedes and even Jake Marisnick all competing to earn at-bats in the outfield.

Regardless of where or how much he plays though, Smith is just focused on helping the New York Mets get back to the playoffs.

“Personally, I just want to help the team win,” Smith said. “I mean that’s all I care about, I feel like that’s all this team cares about. We were three games away from making the playoffs last year so, as a young team, that makes you more hungry and more team oriented.”

Smith capped off the 2019 season for the Mets by hitting a walk-off three-run homer in the 11th inning of a 7-6 victory over the Atlanta Braves.

Hopefully more heroics like that are to come for the 24-year-old this season.