What if the Dominic Smith trade to the Padres happened?

Back before the 2022 season opened, the New York Mets and San Diego Padres were talking trade. The Mets rumors proclaimed the deal would have at least sent Dominic Smith to the Padres in exchange for Eric Hosmer, Emilio Pagan, and Chris Paddack.

San Diego did end up making a similar trade. Paddack and Pagan along with minor leaguer Brayan Medina went to the Minnesota Twins for Taylor Rogers and Brent Rooker. Both teams are looking playoff-bound—the same situation the Mets are in.

But what if these Mets rumors became true and the deal did go down?

Rewriting some Mets rumors history, what if Dominic Smith was traded to the Pad

We never know exactly what a player’s performance would look like in a different situation. Keeping it simple, let’s assume players would have performed close to the way they actually are in 2022.

Paddack is hurt and that would have definitely soured Mets fans on the trade immediately. He pitched well for the Twins before landing on the 60-day IL. Another thing to take note of when it comes to him, his presence on the Mets means Tylor Megill starts the year in Triple-A. Ergo, the Mets don’t have a no-hitter this season.

Pagan has actually been fantastic out of the bullpen for the Twins this year. The closer role now appears to belong to him. Add him to the Mets and sure it’s a nice piece to have. We definitely need to see a lot more before getting too thrilled.

Then there’s Hosmer. The guy the Padres have been trying to trade away since he signed his deal with them. Hosmer is making an early season run at a batting title. Alongside Manny Machado, he is literally carrying the Padres offense into contention.

You already know the exact opposite could be said about Smith on the Mets. Inconsistent starts may have hurt him a little bit at the start of the year. However, even in the days with Robinson Cano now gone, he hasn’t picked things up.

Swapping Smith for Paddack, Pagan, and Hosmer like these Mets rumors suggested would take place looks like this may have been a trade that slipped away from Billy Eppler. That is until we remember the final footnote on this piece of early April trade news. The Mets were expected to try and trade Hosmer after acquiring him.

The Chicago Cubs were the team many suspected would take on Hosmer and a large portion of his salary in order to get him on the cheap. Whether it was them or anyone else, imagine how the Mets would be feeling to have traded away Hosmer only to see him do what he is accomplishing right now.

There isn’t always a winner or loser with trades. Even if the Mets were able to simply swap Smith for Pagan—based on their early performances this year—it might feel like a success. Add in that they moved on from Hosmer quickly, the sweet taste of victory suddenly has some bitterness. Imagine how the Padres would have felt. Eek!