J.D. Davis, Dom Smith Must Make Due
Mets GM Zack Scott thinks both will make solid contributions in 2021 despite unknown roles
New York Mets acting general manager Zack Scott spoke to the team’s press corps on Friday, addressing a number of topics with camp set to open this week in Port St. Lucie, Florida.
J.D. Davis has been a hot-button issue for the majority of the winter. His defensive shortcomings have been addressed here many times, as has his offensive upside.
Scott stopped short of tabbing the 27-year-old as the Mets’ everyday third baseman but certainly — and somewhat vaguely — alluded to a prominent role for Davis moving forward.
“We really like [Davis]. He’s someone that can really hit and obviously, we have him under control for a while. He’s a very valuable player to our organization,” Scott told reporters. “We’re gonna always look for ways to improve the team in any way we can. But we’re fully comfortable with [Davis] playing an important role.”
With clear upgrades in the Cubs’ Kris Bryant and the Reds’ Eugenio Suarez reportedly being shopped by their respective clubs and murmurs of the Mets’ interest being a talking point for a portion of the offseason, we’ll see how this proceeds.
Dominic Smith, who’s broken out to the tune of a .299/.366/.571 line with 21 homers, 148 wRC+, and 2.6 wins above replacement (FanGraphs) since the start of the 2019 season (396 plate appearances), has his work cut out for himself in 2021.
Without the designated hitter in place in the National League this season, young slugger Pete Alonso is practically Sharpie’d into the everyday spot at first base, leaving Smith in more of a versatile role.
Not to say he doesn’t embrace that challenge, of course.
Smith, 25, famously endeared himself to Mets brass as well as the fan base with his successful lobby campaign to get reps in left field last year, leading to more playing time for the former first-round pick (2013, 11th overall) and the opportunity to rise.
The Los Angeles product finished the COVID-shortened 2020 season with the sixth-best wRC+ in baseball (164).
Scott echoed those encouraging sentiments on Friday.
“Dom obviously has been a very good hitter. The fact that he’s moved from first out to the outfield gives him more versatility,” the Mets’ acting GM said. “I know it’s something that he wants to continue to work on.”
With Brandon Nimmo presumably pegged as the team’s starting center fielder (unless Jackie Bradley Jr. still somehow ends up in Queens), it’s conceivable that Dom will be seeing the lion’s share of his reps in left field.
Francisco Lindor and his fantastic range manning the shortstop position should certainly ease the sting of a below-average glove in left, whether that be Smith, Davis, etc. Play deep and let Frankie cover shallow.
Boom, vulnerability decreased. This can work, friends.