Smith deflated while serving as the team’s primary left fielder and getting into 145 games. He hit .244 with a woeful .363 slugging percentage and went from being better than league average to 14% worse. He also made nearly 300 more plate appearances than he ever had in a season, leaving much more opportunities to get exposed.
“Whatever happened this year is not going to define me as a player, as a person,” Smith told the Daily News in September, a month he started with a 4-for-19 stretch that included eight strikeouts. “I know I still have a lot of years in this game. I have a lot of years to improve and get better. I’m obviously going to take that challenge like I’ve taken every challenge and just work. That’s all you can do. There’s a lot of things I want to work on. I don’t worry about my future. I just take it day by day. I live in the present.”
Smith was having a so-so 2021 until he got benched by Luis Rojas in September. That said, the Mets need to trade him. Other than being a full-time DH, he has no position here. Trade him for a starting pitcher and call it a day.