Dominic Smith home run drought is quickly approaching a full year

The last time Dominic Smith hit a home run for the New York Mets was on July 21, 2021. A grand slam against the Cincinnati Reds in a 7-0 game was his last trot around the bases. A lot has changed since then. We now have four seasons of Stranger Things. The idea of calling a Topgun sequel one of the best movies of all time seemed ridiculous. Babies have been made and are already stealing sleep away from their parents.

By the end of the 2 for 4 day, Smith raised his batting average of up .260. It would never get higher than that mark again all year long, occasionally revisiting .260 after dipping below.

Last season was rough for Smith. This season is even tougher.

The home run drought is only one problem for the struggling Mets position player

What adjective do we even throw Smith’s way anymore? He isn’t really a first baseman. He’s not a DH either. The Mets no longer put him in left field. Slugger might be appropriate if he was actually slugging anything.

It’s an unfortunate turn in a career that had so much promise, then got real ugly, and then turned around before getting real ugly again. Smith’s 2019 and 2020 campaigns look like lies. What he has done these last two seasons feel more on-par with those two early seasons where he didn’t look like the answer.

Home runs aren’t the only thing that matter for a hitter but when you’re a first baseman/DH, you’re going to need to pop them. Patrick Mazeika and Robinson Cano are ahead of him on this year’s team home run leaders. As the owner of a slugging percentage that is already a poor OBP, it’s one of the great shames of this team over the nearly last 365 days.

Smith’s days with the Mets feel more numbered than ever. While he may not get traded away this summer, some additions will make him a near guaranteed fit to get sent back to Triple-A. The offseason could be a more realistic time to send him somewhere else. A clear change of scenery guy, Smith’s chances to end his nearly year-long home run drought are running out.