3 Mets players from the Opening Day roster who could be gone by the All-Star Break

NY Mets roster needs Dominic Smith less than ever

The Mets are not playing Dominic Smith in the outfield this year which makes him an ill-fit for the team going forward. Pete Alonso has become a much better fielder, eliminating the need to move him to a more permanent DH role and allow Smith to fill in at first base. This likely factored in largely to the team's decision to demote him on May 31.

Far greater than this part of the equation is Smith’s lack of hitting. A fine fielding first baseman, his weak bat does not lend itself to regular starts. Now minus the need for a pinch-hitter every day, Smith is far more expendable.

Fortunately, he does have minor league options which means the Mets won’t have to give up on Smith completely. He can go back to Triple-A and try to figure things out and see if a spot opens up for him in the big leagues again. The other way to remove him from the roster would be to trade him.

A deal involving Smith before the All-Star Break probably won’t happen. Trades that far in advance of the deadline typically involve a bad salary getting dumped—something that could conceivably happen in a Smith trade but at this point probably wouldn’t.

The Mets probably will need to trade Smith at some point but that has been the case for several years now. His demotion signals to the rest of the league how available he is but it might also decrease his value a little more. We'll have to see if he can play his way back to the big leagues or face a trade.