Dominic Smith might not have an obvious role on this Mets team, but the 25-year-old still has big plans for 2020.
Pete Alonso is at first, J.D. Davis is in left and Yoenis Cespedes and others are poised to take at-bats at DH.
“Especially with the way the season is laid out, it’s definitely a different season,” Smith said of the 60-game schedule. “I just want to come in, play hard, show what I can do and put pressure on the team to make a tough decision.”
Smith could at least provide a valuable bat off the bench and he’s looking forward to getting back on the field after missing most of the second half of last season with a stress reaction in his foot. He returned at the end of the year to hit a game-winning homer in the final game of the season.
“I had two months off with the injury and sometimes you can get lost,’’ Smith said. “J.D. Davis did a great job and is now the left fielder because he played so well. That’s just how it goes.”
He’s continued his work in the outfield and said he feels more comfortable there this year — and that one home run to end 2019 gave Smith hope heading into the offseason.
“For me to come back and remind them they have a pretty good young player in me was definitely icing on the cake,’’ Smith said. “I want to continue to show the world, show the league what I can do.”
And he had no hesitation returning following the COVID-19 shutdown.
“For me, personally, no,’’ Smith said. “I love baseball and I hadn’t played baseball [regularly] since last year in July. … I’ve been dreaming about baseball every day. I’m very excited to be back on the field and can’t wait to get out there.”
The Mets sent players to their alternate site at MCU Park in Brooklyn for the first time Tuesday, including pitching prospect David Peterson. Luis Rojas said all the players that were moved remain options to open the season with the Mets despite being relocated.
“It’s still one camp,’’ Rojas said. “Everything that’s a matchup or features competition to make the roster will be done at Citi Field.
Peterson impressed during spring training in March and will continue to be used as a starter.
“His stuff plays,’’ Rojas said of the left-hander. “We have five starters, but guys like David can come in and deliver for us. We have great trust in him. We like the way he’s handled himself. He’s got great confidence. He’s getting over that hump where he knows he can get big-league hitters out.”
Among the other players sent to Brooklyn were right-handers Tyler Bashlor, Ryley Gilliam, Walker Lockett, Corey Oswalt and Drew Smith, as well as lefties Kevin Smith and Daniel Zamora, catchers Patrick Mazeika and Ali Sanchez and OF Johneshwy Fargas.
Rick Porcello is locked into a rotation spot and is looking to bounce back from a rough 2019 when he finished with a 5.52 ERA in Boston.
The 31-year-old spent much of the layoff at home in New Jersey and said he entered spring training 2.0 able to throw 85-100 pitches in an appearance. But when the expected 4-6 week layoff became much longer, Porcello said he felt “lost” in trying to figure out how much he should throw.
“That lull hit when nobody knew what was going on,’’ Porcello said of the prolonged work stoppage due to labor disputes between MLB and the players association. “It got to the point where we either had to start this season now or we’re not gonna play. I had confidence we were gonna play.”
He’s hoping he’s in midseason form when the season is scheduled to open July 24 and said he’s going to use his fastball more to keep batters off-balance.
“I’m definitely looking to attack more with my fastball competitively this year in the right situations,’’ Porcello said. “That’s not to say I’ll throw less offspeed pitches. I felt like when I struggled last year and in the past, it was a direct result of a lack of fastball command and not being able to attack hitters in a certain zone.”
Relievers Brad Brach and Jared Hughes still have not been in camp.