3 former NY Mets players we’d fear more on the Braves roster than Dominic Smith

Dominic Smith will join the Atlanta Braves in camp as part of a minor league deal. Spend enough time playing baseball, you’re bound to play for a couple of different rivals. The once-promising New York Mets prospect who never really put it all together consistently enough in the majors will have an uphill battle for big league playing time again. He hit a solid .284 for the San Francisco Giants last year in a part-time role but with limited power which just doesn’t play well terrifically as a first baseman.

Smith going to the Braves creates little fear for the average Mets fan. He’s not about to crush his ex-team, but maybe one of these other three can.

These three ex-Mets would have a revenge game in 2026 if they signed with the Braves

1) Jesse Winker

It feels like the Jesse Winker storyline with the Mets is incomplete. He missed most of last year due to injury. Still unsigned, he feels like an absolute candidate to get a minor league deal somewhere. Why not the Braves? He brings the kind of energy they loved out of Joc Pederson a few years ago. A Mets villain turned fan-favorite for a short amount of time, Winker is the epitome of someone we’d declare has what it takes to hit .200 against the rest of the league while putting together a 10 for 20 performance against the Mets.

2) Michael Conforto

Michael Conforto is a fascinating free agent whose market has been stagnant. Where does he end up? He hit .199 with 12 home runs for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year. He’s not getting a starting gig. A minor league contract feels like a big downgrade. Could the Braves consider him as a rebound candidate on a “prove it” type of contract? He might be a decent bench piece with experience. Conforto is a once-popular Mets player whose last season in New York seems like a distant memory because of a missed 2022 season and three out in California. You haven’t watched enough baseball to believe Conforto is done with big hits against the Mets.

3) Max Kranick

This would be the scariest of all. Max Kranick found himself with the Mets early in 2025 only for a season-ending injury to knock him down just as he was standing tall. Signing with the Braves and reuniting with Jeremy Hefner feels realistic. He probably wouldn’t get a major league deal. The fear with Kranick is that the Mets made a mistake of non-tendering him back in November rather than carrying him into 2026 the way they will with Tylor Megill and Reed Garrett while knowing neither are going to pitch at all in 2026.

You can’t talk about ex-Mets punishment without also thinking of the most nauseating way to lose a game in 2026: a Wilmer Flores walk-off hit against us while wearing a Braves uniform. This one isn’t as fearful as much as it is a tearjerker.

Max Scherzer? We know what he'll do in late September down in Atlanta.